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THE MARINE RECORD DISCRIMINATING DUTIES. At a special meeting of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Maritime Exchange, held this week, the fol- lowing memorial was authorized to be sent to the Senate of the United States: _ The Philadelphia Maritime Exchange respectfully and _ most earnestly memorializes your honorable body against the passage of a certain bill, to wit: S. 3232, known as the “Discriminating Duty Bill.” This bill provides that a duty of ten (10) per cent ad valorem, in addition to the duties now imposed by law, “shall be levied on all goods imported in ships not of the United States; and, that any and all clauses in existing treaties in contravention thereto be abrogated and re- pealed. In the opinion of the Philadelphia Maritime Exchange the provisions of this bill if enacted into law would be disastrous te American shipping, and instead of having the effect, sought to be accomplished, would destroy rather than build up the American Merchant Marine. The discriminating duty would encourage importations into the United States by rail and thus not only build up for- eign lines running to Canadian and Mexican ports, but also, by shutting out foreign steamers at San Francisco, drive traffic from the American Trans-Continental Rail- ways to the Canadian Pacific Railway. The abrogation of some thirty-seven (37) treaties with _ foreign nations, for it is reasonable to assume that no government would consent to strike out one section and __ allow the balance of the treaty to remain in force, would disrupt our trade relations with the maritime powers of the world, and the disastrous effect of such disturbance cannot be overestimated. Should foreign governments retaliate, which seems not unlikely, by putting a tax, say of ten (10) per cent, on all goods imported into their coun- tries in vessels of the United States, the loss on outward cargoes, now carried by American vessels, would more than offset the gain on any probable amount of home- _ward cargo, as it is well known that the most profitable = freights to the shipowner are the eastward, and not the > _ westward ones. Many steamers come to this country in ballast, depending entirely upon the eastward bound cargo : for their voyage earnings. The protection sought to be given to the American ship- owner by the proposed tax of ten (10) per cent on the value of the merchandise carried, would be most unequally distributed. On a cargo of iron ore the tax would amount to about twenty (20) per cent of the freight, while on a cargo of sugar or tobacco it would be fully three hun- dred (300) per cent; on corn it would be fifty (50) per cent; on provisions two hundred (200) per cent, and so on; discriminating between shipowners in the first named in- stance to the extent of giving fifteen times as much pro- tection to one as to the other. In high valued merchan- dise, such as silks, etc., this unjust discrimination would be still more appalling. For the reasons set forth, the Philadelphia Maritime Exchange believes that the proposed legislation would ‘inure to the detriment of American shipowners, and work i harm to American commerce, and therefore most earnest- ly petitions your honorable body against the passage of bill, S. 3232. ; ical gs LIFE BOATS. By Fred A. Ballin. The present rules and regulations for the use of life boats and rafts are far from being satisfactory. The arbi- trary way of determining the carrying capacity (4484 R. S., Sec. 2), of life-boats by multiplying dimensions L. B. D, by 0.06 for ocean, lake or sound steamers, and by 0.6-7 for river steamers, does not signify that such boats have “the required capacity. To illustrate this let us suppose that the midship section of one boat is 90 per cent. that of another, only 50 per cent. or less of the rectangle rep- resented by BXD, and the co-efficient of displacement the same, the first will carry 1.8 times as much as the other. As a result of this rule, boat builders are building boats with so much deadrise, that they have lost their usefulness. The cubic contents or displacement is not taken into account, and consequently, any rule of the 2 above nature is inadequate. displacement, two boats will not carry the same load, as - the deadweight may be different, I would suggest that a rule should be adopted which would require a certain freeboard amidship and at bow and stern with allowed load Still, as even with a given of passengers. This freeboard should be at least three- fourths of an inch for every foot of length, or 15 inches for a 20-foot boat, 18 for a 24-foot, etc. The sheer at bow should be double this amount. The inspectors should be authorized to have such boats tested and marked with a waterline. Double ended life-boats for oceans and lakes should not be passed as the saving of people from the water over the sides is dangerous and has caused many boats to swamp, while there is no danger in pulling per- sons aboard over the stern in square stern boats. In addition a rule should require inspectors to test boats as to their stability light, requiring that they should support at least two men on the gunwale amidship with- out capsizing. In regard to construction, the hull should be built of not less than No. 18, B. W. G. galvanized steel, and all seams and butts should be dofible riveted with galvanized rivets and guaranteed watertight. If wood is used in stem, keel or stern, this should be clear white oak and cased with galvanized iron of not less than No. 18 gauge on outside, with soldered joints where riveting is impossible. lO OO A LARGE CARGO STEAMER. It is learned that the new freight steamer Milwaukee, now due at New Orleans, is the largest steamer ever built on the east coast of England. Her dimensions are: Length, 470 feet; beam, 56 feet; depth of hold, 34 feet 10 inches; net register tonnage, 4,755. Her dead weight car- rying capacity is 11,700 tons on a draft of 27 feet 2 inches. The cubical measurement of the ship for cargo is 702,700 feet, which at 40 feet equals 17,567 tons; 2,560 tons of water ballast is carried in one deep tank, the remainder in the cellular double bottom which extends the full length of the ship. Her engines are of the triple expansion type, the diameter of the cylinders being 28,46 and 74 inches, with 54 inches stroke of piston. They are capable of de- veloping 3,500 horse power. Steam is supplied by three large steel boilers, allowed a working pressure of 180 pounds. She has accommodation for 1,150 head of cat- tle on her main deck, which is thoroughly ventilated and supplied with water service. The Milwaukee was built at Wallsend-on-Tyne, E., for Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co., of Liverpool. ee er NOTICE TO MARINERS. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA—NORTHERN LAKES AND RIVERS—OHIO. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Office of the -Light- House Board, Washington, D. C., February 10, 1897.— Conneaut Range Rear Light Station. Notice is~hereby given that the sixth-order fixed white light heretofore shown from the tower on the bluff westward of Conneaut Harbor, Lake. Erie, has been discontinued, at that point, and will, on or about March 1, 1897, be re-established in the structure recently erected on the easterly side of the west pier at the entrance to the harbor, and 810 feet S. by E. % E. (true) in rear of the pierhead light. The focal plane of the light will be 60 feet above mean lake level, and the light should be seen about 13 statute miles in clear weather. The light will illuminate 216° of the horizon, and will be visible from all points of ap- proach from the lake. With the pierhead the light will mark a range line, parallel with the axis of the pier, to guide to the entrance between the piers. The structure is a square, dark-red, pyramidal, closed tower surmounted by a lantern. The approximate geographical position of the tower, as taken from Chart No. 70 (Lake Erie Coast Chart No. 4) of the United States Survey of the Northern and North- western Lakes, is: Latitude, North, 41° 58’ (21”); Longi- tude, West, 80° 32’ (59”). By order of the Light-House Board: JOHN G. WALKER, Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy, Chairman. Orwell ABOUT RIGHT. A lake contemporary says that Congressman Minor’s bill, which provides for the inspection by the Government of all sailing vessels of 700 tons or more and that all offi- cers of such vessels be licensed, which means that masters of sail vessels will have to stand an examination as cap- tains of steamboats do now, will be strenuously opposed by the Lake Carriers’ Association. There is no doubt but what Representative Minor expected opposition from this source before the bill was even drawn up. There is no more reason why a man should be allowed to com- in- mand a sail vessel without a license than there is for a cap-_ tain running a steamboat without a certificate of compe- tency. As it now is any one can command a sail vessel whether he be qualified or not, this is no fault of the per- son or persons commanding such craft, but the law-mak- ers. The Advocate is gratified in being able to state that there is one man in the House of Representatives that thoroughly understands these points and that is Rep- resentative Minor, who hails from this district, namely, Sturgeon Bay. As most of our readers are aware, Mr. Minor is a licensed pilot. a MARITIME LAW. THE STRATHEVIS. Canadian-Australian S. S. Line v. The Strathnevis. Pacific Imp. Co. et al vs. Same. (District Court, D Washington, N. D. November 2, Be Nos. 971, 972. SALVAGE—WHEN PAYABLE—SUCCESSFUL EF- . FORT. vi To earn salvage, success must crown the efforts of the salvors. But, when a vessel has been actually rescued from a situation of peril, all who have contributed at any stage of the rescuing services are entitled to a share of the reward. SAME—ABANDONMENT OF UNDERTAKING. Voluntary abandonment of.an attempt to rescue a ves- sel in peril works a forfeiture of the right to salvage. But when salvors are prevented by stress of weather, fog, or other circumstances beyond their control, from render- ing further assistance, and there has been no willful disre- gard of duty on their part towards the imperiled ship, there should be no forfeiture. SAME—FORFEITURE—REDUCTION OF _COM- PENSATION. The amount of salvage to be awarded should be com- mensurate with the merit of the salvor’s conduct; and when salvage has been earned, and there has been no will- ful misconduct or neglect, mere failure on the part of the salvors to do all that might be done under the circum- stances affords good ground for reducing the amount to be awarded, but there is no inflexible rule making forfeiture the penalty. SAME—MEASURE OF COMPENSATION, Where a disabled steamship, without motive power, and with one anchor lost, was found during tempestuous weather, at anchor on the lee shore of an island, flying a distress signal, and was rescued with great difficulty and danger by a steamship, and the loss of four days’. time, held, that the steamship found was in imminent peril, and being worth, with her cargo, freight, etc., $220,000, while the salving vessel was worth $216,000, an award of. $12,000 to her owners, $1,800 to her captain, and amounts varying from $600 to $100 to her officers and crew, was just and reasonable. The Sirius, 6 C, C. A. 614, 57 Fed. 851, fol- lowed. SAME—FORFEITURE—CONTRIBUTING TO . RESCUE. The steamship M. found the steamship S. disabled, in a perilous situation, far from land, and out of the track of inward-bound steamships, at a season when bad weather prevailed, and attemtped to tow her into port. After pro- ceeding a considerable distance, and getting in the usual track of other vessels, the towline parted during a storm at night, and the vessels separated. In the morning the M. searched for the S. for several hours, but finally aban- doned all hope of finding her, and proceeded on her course. The S. was found and brought into port by an- other steamship. Held, that the fact that the rescue was completed by another vessel did not work forfeiture of the M.’s claim for salvage. SAME. Where a steamship which has become separated from, and was unable to find, a disabled vessel she was attempt- ing to save, proceeded on her course, without giving no- tice at a telegraph station less than fifty miles off, held that this fact would very materially reduce the salvage al- lowed her, the vessel haying been finally rescued by an- other steamship. These were libels by the Canadian-Australian Steam- ship Line and by the Pacific Improvement Co,, owner of the steamship Mineola, and A. F. Pillsbury, master of said vessel, against the British steamship Strathnevis.