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VOL. XIX. ef if built of metal, ESTABLISHED 1878. — Ee NO. 46. RELATING TO LIFE BOATS AND RAFTS. ‘TREASURY DEPARTMENT. l OFFICE OF THE SUPERVISING INSPECTOR-GENERAL, ; WASHINGTON, D. C. ) To supervising and local inspectors of steam vessels, boat and raft manufacturers, and others: The Department having been informed that certain life rafts, not built according to the specifications pre- sented to the Board of Supervising Inspectors at the time of the approval of such rafts, have been placed on steam vessels, all inspectors of steam vessels are hereby directed not to accept or pass hereafter anylife raft or lifeboat unless there shall be furnished with each a written guarantee, over the signature of the builder, that such raft or boat is constructed in strict accordance with the specifications presented to the Board of Super- vising Iuspectors at the time of its approval. It is further ordered, that on and after August 1, 1896, no life raft or lifeboat shall be accepted or- passed by the inspéctors of steam vessels unless it shall have per- manently attached thereto a metallic plate having thereon, in raised letters and figures the name of the maker of the raft or boat, the place where manufac- tured, the shop number, and date of manufacture; and, the thickness thereof, Birmingham. gauge. Jas. A. Dumont, Approved: Supervising Inspector-General. W. E. Curtis, Acting Secretary. EEE Do eo COLLISION LITIGATION SETTLED. ‘The owners of the steamer Arthur Orr were ordered to pay the owners of the sunken steambarge T. H. Smith $10,000 damages, together with interest on that sum from November 11, 1893, by Judge Seaman, inthe U. S..- Court at Milwaukee the first of the week. The payment is to be in settlement of the libel growing out of the collision whereby the steambarge Smith was sunk. The owners of the Orr will also have to defray half of the expenses of the suit, which are quite heavy. ‘The Ort collided with the Smith early on the morning of Novem- ber 11, 1893, off Racine. The Smith was light and bound from Chicago to Menominee, and the Orr was running light to Chicago from Milwaukee. A dense fog preyailed at the time and the Smith was not discovered until within 300 feet of the Orr. The engines cf the latter were quickly reversed, but the collision was un- avoidable and the Orr crashed into the Smith with such force as to explode the boilers, It was claimed that the Smith did not sink immediately, but floated for several hours, when it would have been possible for the Orr to tow her into shallow water.., This, it is claimed was not done by the captain of the Orr for fear of grounding on the Racine reef. Judge Seaman referred the matter to Commissioner Kurtz to determine the value of the sunken craft, which he fixed at $20,000. This was ex- cepted to, but Judge Seaman in his decision stated that it was a just valuation and damages would be allowed at halfthe sum, with interest, and with one-half the costs. es ee re SUIT FOR GRAIN SHORTAGE. The Hastern Minnesota Railroad Co. has made answer in the suit brought against it by the Cleveland Iron Mining Co., denying the responsibility for the loss sus- tained by the plaintiff. The suit is based on a shortage in a cargo of wheat shipped in April, 1890, on the steamer Frontenac, and recalls the large number of complaints that were made at that time about short weights. The wheat was the property of A. J: Sawyer & Co., and had been stored in the Great Northern ele- vators. The railroad company was ordered to weigh out 81,000 bushels of wheat for the steamer Frontenac, CLEVELAND—NOVEMBER 12, 1896—CHICAGO. $2 PER YEAR. 10c. SINGLE COPY and this the detoreant claims was done by state pe men, on scales that were accurate. When the cargo was weighed in at Buffalo it is claimed that the cargo was 1,500 bushels short. Sawyer & Co. made a demand on the owners of the steamer for the value of the wheat, and received the amount claimed. Now the: vessel sues the railroad for the shortage. EEE ee —e OBITUARY. CAPT. CRITCHEL, The late Capt. Critchel, who was buried at Ogdens- burg last week, sailed for 26 years in the employ of D. C. Whituey, Detroit, and was master for 20 years, the last four years having been spent in charge of the steamer D C. Whitney. Capt. Critchel died at the home of his sister, Mrs, D. M. Foster, Marine City, Oct. 24; aged 47 years, after a brief illness, though he worked up to the last, nor was it expected that the attack of ty-- phoid pneumonia would carry him off. Such, however» was the case, and although all that loving hands and (THE LATE) CAPT. CRITCHEL. neatte could do was done, he did not survive ic attack of the malady. There were few men on the lakes who enjoyed in a greater degree the confidence and respect of their shipmates and associates than that given to the late Capt. Critchel. He was universally liked, and not only did he make friends, but, attracted by his sterling char- acter, he always kept the friendships formed during his sailing career. Capt. Critchel was a’ Royal Arch Mason, and that order took charge of his remains. He was also an Odd Fellow, and among the members of both orders the cap- tain was always considered a favorite. Upright, con- scientious and a disciplinarian, his life was a well or- dered one, and he left thisearththe better for his tem- porary stay here, to crossthe river beyond. There are a large number of friends who offer their condolences to the widow of the late master of the D. C. Whitney, among whom THE RECORD is to be numbered. WORLD’S PRODUCTION OF COAL. A statement from the British Board of Trade, show- ing the production and consumption of coal and the number of persons employed in coal production in the principal countries of the world in each year from 1883 to 1894, so far as the particulars can be stated, has been issued as a parliamentary paper. In 1894 the United Kingdom produced 188,277,000 tons, Germany 76,741,000, France 26,964,000, Belgium 20,534,000, Austria 9,573,000, Japan (1893) 3,371,000, and the United States 152 »448,000 tons. Of the British possessions, Canada produces be- tween three and four million tons, and in addition im- ports about half her total consumption, principally from the United States. New South Wales produces about 3;500,000 tons, but, unlike Canada, her output has been of late years practically stationary. New Zealand- yields over 500,000 tons per annum, but shows little or. no increase. Natal’s output rose from 26,000:.tons in 1889 to 141,000 in 1894. Similarly, in British India the: ' production has steadily risen from 1,316,000 tons in 1883 - to 2,821,000 tons in 1894. The countries which import coal‘in excess of the amount they export are Russia, Sweden, France, Spain, Italy and Austria-Hungary ;- and of British possessions, Canada, Victoria, Queens- land, Tasmania, New Zealand, the Cape and British. . India, together with all the minor colonies, with the sole exception of Labuan-Borneo. —_—_—_—EEEEEP oe — a LAKE YACHTING INTERESTS. A meeting was held in Buffalo this week, by a ‘num- ber of lake yachtsmen, among whom were present Com- modore Brower, of Buffalo, G. T.'Bliss, of Erie, Pa., and. EK. W. Radder, of Cleveland, representing the Inter-Lake Yacht Racing Association; President Aemiluis Jarvis, of Toronto, J. E. Burroughs, of Rochester, and EK. H. Ambrose, of Hamilton, Ont., representing the Lake Yacht Racing Association of Lake Ontario. é The meeting was for the purpose of framing a consti-* tution and by-laws embracing a system of measure- ments and classification for all the yacht clubs of the lakes. The constitution, as presented to the six dele- gates, comprised 38 articles. The first is as follows: ‘The object of the union shall be to continue yachting and boat racing on the Great Lakes; to unify the rules and classifications now ‘exist- ing, so that they will apply to all clubs and in allevents on the Great Lakes, but it is not intended that the union shall act in anything but an advisory capacity. The present system of measurement was not materiality changed. : AN IMPORTANT NOTICE. ‘ Capt. DeClute, of thé steam fish-boat Louise, states that the fog signal on the ‘‘ Dummy Light,’’ south of Point Pelee mainland, was badly damaged during last week’s gale, and that it will not be in operation until repairs are completed. This information appears to be in ad- vance of any official notice which we have received rela- tive to this important light, and much credit is due to Capt. DeClute for furnishing the news Haretati’ to the “Dummy Light.’’ OOO EEE A NEW LINE MANAGER. There has been issued from the office of EK. B. Thomas,. president of the Erie Railroad Co., New York, an order, under date of November 4, appointing Mr. Charles Paine general manager of the Union Steamboat Line, with office at Buffalo, vice Mr. Washington Bullard, de- ceased. The office of assistant general manager is abolished.