The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THE MARINE RECORD. ESTABLISHED 1878. Published Every Thursday by THE MARINE. RECORD. PUBLISHING CO., Incorporated. GEO. L. SMITH, President. Se ese er be Manager. CAPT. JOHN SWAINSON, ~ - - - Editor. THOS. WILLIAMS, Chicago, - - Associate. CLEVELAND, eas CHICAGO. Western Reserve Building. Royal Insurance Building. SUBSCRIPTION. One Copy, one year, postage paid, - - $2.00. One Copy, one year, to foreign countries, - - $3.00. Invariably in advance. ADVERTISING. Rates given: On. a8 on application. All communications should be addressed to the Cleveland office. THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING CO., Western Reserve Building, Cleveland, Ohio. Entered at Cleveland Post-office as Second Class Mail Matter. CLEVELAND, O., MARCH 25, 1897. nee UU ESE EES SS IS SEI S:SESSSnSSENSSS EER Now that the ore men’s syndicate has fallen to pieces, perhaps miners will get their due relative to prices in mining ore. oe oer It is very evident that coal shipments will be more brisk in the early spring than it has been in former sea- sons. We understand that the bituminous coal supply has given out in the Northwest, therefore, coal must get there. —— OCS SS While we find the Detroit Dry Dock Co. fully open for new work and with several slips vacant, they are more than busy in the engine and boiler works department. It would appear, and in fact it is well known, that Detroit must be paid for its work and it works. There are no better ves- sels afloat on the lakes today, sail or steam, than those built at Detroit. Neen nnn an an EEE In our continued and inclusive articles, being published from week to week relative to the status and original treat- ment, with foundation of the agreement of reduction of naval forces between Britain and the United States on the lakes, as read before the American Historical Association, we this week print the treaty in full, and, while this ques- tion has been given due space in the Record, éven in years past, we have never entered into the matter so fully as it is at present being treated. We would therefore suggest that our readers, who desire to be acquainted with the whole phase of the question, to hold each chapter separate, so that in future reference the full gist of the treaty may be - fully understood. rn or We are not: much stirred up by the frequent allusions this week to clipper ships in the daily press, as represented by the old box T. F. Oakes, which left Hong Kong about nine months ago, and was towed into New York last week. It would concern Americans very much more if we had actually anything to be proud of on the high seas, and yet we have promulgated the phrase “clipper-ship.” It may be understood that commercial results and mari- time enterprise no longer admits of the models so re- cently accredited to American builders. Originally, the word clipper, as we remember it, may thus be defined: “A-fast sailer, chiefly applied to the sharpt built rakish schooners of the United States, and latterly to the Aus- tralian pasenger ships which are now superseded~ by steam, and are entirely out of date relative to the clip- per part of it, as vessels are now built to carry all they can on the least daily disbursements, whether in crew wages, fuel or port charges. TO WHO! IS THE CREDIT DUE. The National Board of Steam Navigation seems to have taken over the credit of the Lake Carriers’ Associa- tion in asserting that several measures before Congress has been influenced in behalf of their representations in- stead of duly awarding the contest to where it actually belongs. There would seem to be a connection between the lakes, ocean and coast trades, but the ‘fact remains that each are very much distinct from one another and there is no logical conclusion which we can see that will alter the conditions that exist at present relative to this trade. In this connection we cite the President’s report of the twenty-fifth annual meeting of the National Board of Steam Navigation, held recently at St. Louis, wherein he recites that the Board of Steam Navigation assert that they have been the chief factors in upholding work which actually was carried on by the Lake Carriers’ Association and formerly by the Cleveland Vessel Owners’ Associa- tion, and carried to a successful conclusion by the above named bodies. In this the Eastern’ associations are taking too much upon themselves and then do not follow out their ‘bill relative to the general improvement of the’ United States Mercantile Marine, in asserting or taking’ ‘upon them- selves all of the credit. ‘ However, there is nothing like a combined: efott and _when persisited in is sure to lead to good results. To come back to our subject, the: president ‘of the National Board of Steam Navigation says we have pre- vented obnoxious laws that were detrimental to the ma- rine interests from being passed, and always: guarded with jealous care everything, Be | to and for the good of - ‘steam vessel owners. The executive. committee has at all times warened pro- _ posed legislation and. appeared before the various coim- mittees in Washington, explaining the wants and griev- ances as they may have been, in order to secure the best results. ‘Among the many things that have been accomplished are the abolishment of the hospital tax, to which every steamboatman, be he captain or deckhand, was obliged, as you are aware, to contribute forty cents per month for hospital dues. » ; All steamboatmen remember well how at each annual inspection they were charged per ton for such inspection, and this item alone was a burden to ship owners. The great saving in officers’ license is another notable relief to steamboatmen. You recollect how recently it cost each officer $10 per annum for his licenses. The Personal Liability bill, which the National Board was the means of having passed in Congress, has done more for the shipping interests of the United States than any other bill that has been passed for the marine in- terests. It has removed the individual liability of the ship owner from being responsible for more than the amount of his interest in that vessel. Previous to the passage of this bill, it was almost impossible to find capital willing to invest in steam vessels, because of the liability attached to their interest, and the possibility of their entire fortune being swept away, although possibly the owner of the smallest interest. Had the National Board accomplished but this one act, it is worth all the money that has been expended by the board. The influence of the board has also increased the num- ber of lighthouse districts. It has stopped the patent right venders from putting clap-trap arrangements on steam vessels, owing to the efforts of able committees that were sent to Washington to protest against all de- vices that wer not for the purpose of saving life and property, and for the actual benefit of vessels. It pre- vented the passage of the bill that was introduced in the House, requiring barges on the lakes and Long Is- land Sound to maintain a load line or free board; also the passage of the bill requiring ocean-going steamers to purchase a patent: signal light, which was only of benefit to the patent right venders. It regulated the an- chorage of vessels in the harbor of New York, and had passed other laws that were of advantage, and those that were not, they had killed by their influence in the committee rooms. It is at present working on the Libel law, and I believe that only owing to the great number of bills before Gon- gress during the last session, they would have accom- plished something that would be beneficial to the vessel _ owners of this country. I feel satisfied that in the next Congress the Libel law will be amended. This Board strongly recommends the removal of’ foils. of all kind from commerce of every waterway in this country. ° Bisse: From this brief review of the great benefits achieved by the board to vessel owners it does not seem presumptu- ous to believe that when the exécutive committee of the National Board of Steam Navigation appears before con- gressional committees, advocating the framing of advan- tageous legislation, or to condemn unwise laws detri- mental to marine regulations, or patentees preying on marine interests, Congressmen will then well know that the vessel owners of the United States are in accord with the National Board’s committee before them. — From the foregoing it would appear as if this board has been doing all for the benefit of the United States Mer- cantile Marine, whereas other bodies are still more earn- estly engaged in prosecuting each avenue tr ending towards the higher and better development of the service. oo MARITIME LIEN. ‘ Ina recent supreme court decision Mr, Justice Harlan ruled as follows: “A maritime lien on a vessel is not cre- ated by supplying coal to it on the order of a charterer, without any order of the master or his expressed consent. Where the charterer was required by the charter to pro- vide and pay for the coal, and had an office at the port of supply so that the party providing it could easily. have ascertained the ownership of the vessel and the relation of the charterer to it, although he acted, in fact, on the belief that the vessel was responsible. for fuel were given by the New York Steamship Company, a New Jersey corporation engaged in business at the city of New York. The vessel herself was registered at Wil- mington, North Carolina, but was owned by citizéns of New York. The fuel was necessary to enable her to make regular trips from New York to and from the ports of Maine, and orders for same in some instances were sent direct by mail; in others, through a broker, either by the general manager of the company or by the dock superin- tendent. In summing up this important case Mr. Justice Harlan further stated that under the circumstances, if un- der any, a charterer who has control and possession Oftae vessel under a charter requiring him, at his own cost, to provide for necessary supplies and repairs, may pledge the credit of the vessel, it is not necessary now to determine, we mean only to decide, at this time, that one furnishing supplies and making repairs on the order simply of a per- son or corporation acquiring the control and possession of © a vessel under such a charter party, can not acquire a mari- time lien of the circumstances attending the transaction put him on inquiry as to the existence and terms of such charter party; but he failed to make inquiry, and chose to act on a mere belief that a vessel would be liable for his claim. A similar decision and also.on.the.question of pay- ment for fuel was decided in the same way a.few years ago in the case of certain lake tonnage. And all must agree that it is a most righteous and equitable rendering of the facts brought out in evidence taken before the court. rr CANADIAN TRANS-ATLANTIC SERVICE. After years of agitation Canada is about to have a fast line of steamers that will prove formidable competitors of the best that now make New York their terminus. It is announced on what appears- to be official authority that the Canadian Government has awarded a» contract for a period of 10 years to the English firm of Peterson, Tait & Co., of Newcastle, to place on the route between Montreal: and Liverpool four steamships of 10,000 tons each and a speed slightly exceeding 21 knots.. Two of the new boats are to be ready for the beginning of the season of 1899 and the other in 1900. They are to have 50 per cent more accommodation for passengers than the grey- hounds of the Cunard line, the Lucania and Campania, and 50 per cent more promenade accommodation, while they will be also superior to them in their appointments and equipment. They-witt be further supplied with cold storage accommodation to the. extent of 500 tons, which, however, if needed, is to be subject to increase to 1,000 tons at the demand of the government: The boats will run from Montreal, or possibly Oaahel to Liverpool in the summer, and from’ Halifax in the In the above. case.orders