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May 9, Igor. CANADIAN CANALS John J. Bittinger, the United States Consul General, sta- tioned at Montreal, has sent to the State Department an exhaustive report on the waterways of Canada. He says their waterways are unrivaled by length and in service to commerce. : “Frem the point where the waters of Canada mingle with those of the Atlantic,’’ says Mr. Bittinger, ‘‘to a Canadian port at the head of Lake Superior, along the entire course of which a vessel may sail in Canadian waters, the distance is 2,260 statute milés. From the Straits of Belle Isle to Montreal, the St. Lawrence river extends 986 miles, with a channel wide euough for ocean steamers. From Lake Superior to Three Rivers on the St. Lawrence, where tidal influence ceases, a few hours sail froni Montreal, there is a drop in level to the extent of 600 feet; that is, a vessel from Montreal on its voyage to Port Arthur has to ascend 600 feet. “‘To attain this height there is a system of locks in opera- tion by means of which vessels are lifted 551 feet, leaving 49 feet to overcome by working against a downward stream, which at one place near Iroquois often necessitates the em- ployment of a tug to help a steamer up the river.” Referring to the canals betwen Kingston and Montreal the consul general says: “The width of the locks is 45 feet and depth of water on the sills 14 feet. On their course down from Kingston to Montreal, several of the canals are not used, as the rapids can be run with safety; From Kingston, the course west is through Lake Ontario until Port Dalhousie is reached, where the Welland canal is entered. “This splendid construction extends 263/ miles; the total lift is 3263/ feet, which is effected by 27 locks, each 270 feet by 45 feet, with a depth of 14 feet. From the end of the . Welland canal—Port Colborne—there is deep water to Sault canal 394 miles. “The Sault Ste. Marie canal extends 5,967 feet; it has only one lock, which is 900 feet by 60 feet, and lowest depth 20 feet 3 inches, the total rise being 18 feet. Another water course rufis from Montreal to Ottawa and turns down to Kingston, a total distance of 245 miles. “The rivers Ottawa and Rideau are part of this waterway. The canals on this route are: Lachine, 8% miles; St. Anne’s lock and piers, one-eighth of a mile; Carillon canal, three- fourths of a mile; Grenville, 53( miles. From Ottawa to Kingston—126 miles—there are thirty-five locks. Besides these main line canals there are others, one the line of the Richelieu river; in Ontario, through the Petersborough dis- trict; in Cape Breton; and a number of branches acting as ones to the ideat and Welland systems. CN THE COAST SHIPYARDS COMBINED. A circular has been issued by H. W..Poor & Co., regarding the organization of the United States Ship Building Co., under the laws of New Jersey to acquire the Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., the Union Iron Works, the Bath. Iron Works, limited, the Hyde Windlass Co., of Maine and the Canada Mfg. Co., of Carteret, N. J. The following have consented to serve on the board of directors: Henry M. Scott, Union Iron Works; Lewis Nixon, Cresent Ship Yards; Charles A. Canda, John S. Hyde, presi- dent of the Hyde Windlass Co., EK. W. Hyde, president of the Bath Iron Works, limited; C. B Cutler, Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co.; H. E. Huntington, first vice president of the Southern Pacific Co.; Irving M. Scott, vice president and general manager of the Union Iron Works; Edwin D. Haly, Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad Co.; EH. H. Harriman, chairman of the board and James Stillman, president of the National City Bank.» Other directors will be named after the company is instituted. The aggregate for orders now in the hands of the constitu- ent companies amounts to $60,000,000, The company will be authorized under its charter to issue capital stock as follows: Preferred stock (7 per cent. non-cumulative), $32,- 500,000; common stock $32,500,000. The plan will become operative as soon as organizers notify the Marcantile Trust Co., as depository, that the corporation has acquired the properties of the constituent companies. or oo : Mr. H. F. J. Porter, formerly manager of the: Chicago office of the Bethlehem Steel Co.,:and more recently located at the works at South Bethlehem, has been appointed New York seles agent of the company, with headquarters at 100 Broadway. Mr. Porter is well and favorable known to the majority of vessel owners and other lake marine interests. THE MARINE RECORD LAUNCH OF THE LYRA The steel steamer Lyra, built by the Maryland Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Md., to the order of the Boston Towboat Co., Boston, Mass.; was eta launched on Wednes- dey last, April 30. He ‘ ‘The Lyra is:a sistership to: the. Pleiades pe the Hyatles, recently built at the yards for thesame: owners: Her gen- eral hull dimensions, build and:equipment are as follows: Length: ovet' all, 350 feet; keel, 330% feet; beam, 47 feet; depth, 28 feet; depth to shelter deck, 354 feet; water bottom, 40 inches with a capacity of 1,000 tons; bunker capacity, 650 tons; dead weight ability, 6,350 tons; draft loaded, 24% feet. The Lyra has 7 hatches, 5 steam winches and the William- son steam steering gear. The hullis built of mild steel, 3 complete steel decks, 6 water-tight bulkheads, one non- water-tight bulkhead. Engines are single-screw, triple ex- pansion; cylinders, 21”, 35”, 56” diameters; all 42” stroke for 175 lbs. steam pressure; 100 revolutions. The boilers are 2 single ended, each 14% feet in diameter by 103/ feet in length for 175 lbs. pressure. Pumps are independent feed, bilge, circulating, fire and sanitary of Worthington make. She is fitted with 2 masts, 10 booms, two derrick masts, 2 metallic life boats and 1 cedar dinghey, anchors, cable chains, warps, etc. to the requirements of the American Bureau of Shipping, New York. —_—_ wD Ol ST. LAWRENCE IMPROVEMENTS. The Canadian Government is taking active steps to improve the waterways and seaports of the Dominion. The St. Lawrence route is receiving much attention and discus- sion, both in Parliament and in the daily press. There isa unanimous feeling that the increased demands of modern shipping must"be met with deeper and larger channels, and a more perfect system of lights and buoys, and large appro- priations have been voted. St. Lawrence ship canal was completed to a depth of 27 feet at low water and a minimum width of 300 feet, from Mon- treal to the sea. It is now being deepened to 30 feet, and widened to 450 feet, and there is a talk of 35 feet, and 600 feet. The total length of dredged channel is about 50 miles. The work is mostly done by the Government, and they are now adding several large, high-powered modern dredges to their fleet, and remodeling the Government shipyard at Sorel, Que., by the addition of steel buildings and new tools. This is mainly due to the progressive policy of Mr. Tarte, the Minister of Public Works, and these additions are being made under the engineering guidance of Mr. A. W. Robinson, M. Am. Soc. C. E., Montreal. Two large steel-hulled dredges are now being built from Mr. Robinson’s: designs; one for British Columbia, and the other for the St. Lawrence. Mr. Robinson has also been commissioned to examine the seaport channels in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with a view of designing a large self propelling dredge to suit the condition there existing. a MORE PROSPERITY FOR SAULT STE. MARIE. Detroit dispatches tell of the conference in that city between Alfred R. Harvey, of Liverpool, representing Eng- lish capital, and: F. H. Clergue, of the Lake Superior Power Co., and announce the probable formation of the Interna- tional Steel, Iron & Pipe Co., with $50,000,000 capital, for the erection of steel works at both the Michigan and the Ontario Sault Ste. Marie. This, taken in connection with the amendment of the charter of the Consolidated Lake Superior Co. by the Connecticut legislature, so as to permit the company to operate vessels and railroads, in addition to the original powers granted it, seems to point to an enlarge- ment of the original plans of the Clergue syndicate in the matter of iron and steel manufacture. The company secured a special charter from Connecticut in 1897, with capital of $20,000,000. Referring to the steel plant now building at the Sault, Mr. Harvey said at Detroit: ‘‘We are so far advanced that part of the mill will be running inside of six months, and the entire plant within a year and a half. Then we shall employ 10,000 men at least. It is our inten- tion to have mills on both sides of the Sault river, in the United States and Canada. Much of our best machinery has been ordered and is either building or ready for ship- ment in England. From the ore which comes to us from the Lake Superior mines we will turn out castings, rails, structural and bridge iron.”’ Mr. Clergue, however, has given it out that it should be distinctly understood that? his syndicate]is by no means fathering the Harvey projects as matters now stand, About twelve years ago, the , SHIPPING FACILITIES AT ESCANABA. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road will this year engage in the transportation and shipping of iron ore as it never has done before. In preparation for this new business the company has completed near Escanaba one of the largest and most convenient ore dock systems to be found anywhere on the chain of lakes, and during the past winter the com- pany has turned out hundreds of ore cars to meet this new kind of traffic. The company’s ore dock near Escanaba has recently been completed, and a large coal dock is now being built there, which will complete the arrangements by the Milwaukee road for handling the ore business and cpeon coal from lake vessels. The new ore dock is of modern design and parte! work- manship, and in point of capacity and with respect to en- gineering work involved, the plant will compare favorably with the most noted structures of this kind on the chain of lakes. This dock has been built to handle the iron ore for the Milwaukee company, which will be delivered to it over the company’s new line, known as the Escanaba & Lake Su- perior road, which runs from Channing to Escanaba. The dock proper is 750 feet in length, 52 feet wide at the top, and 59 feet wide out to fender rails. It rises 6634 feet above the water line. It has 120 ore pockets, with a capacity of 250 tons each, or a total ore capacity of 30,000 tons. The'length of the pile protection is 4,810 feet, and the pile and timber trestle approach extend 2,760 feet.’ eee eee j PILOTING IN THE ST. LAWRENCE. STILL SOME WORK TO BE DONE TO MAKE A SAFE 14 FOOT CHANNEL. _ In a letter to the MarINxE RECORD, Capt. Thos. Donnelly, Kingston, Ont., Chief Inspector for the Canadian Lake Underwriters’ Association (Inland Lloyds), says’: “As regards the new Chicago steamers, I have not seen them yet, but I have seen the plans, and I think they are fine vessels, but there are several points in the river that want attending to, before these steamers can beasuccess. In this connection I am very glad to state ‘that the Government ordered contractors to commence very early this season’ to remove spots in the river, that I called attention to last - season. The dredges are now working at Cardinal and Spar- row Hawk Point, and inside of ten days, these two places will be navigable for vessels drawing 14 feet. There are a few more places, that need attention. The outer pier at the Guard Lock at Cardinal wants extending a few hundred feet. The embankment protection pier atthe west end of the North Channel Cut below Prescott should be extended at least 500 feet westward, and the openings in this same pier filled in, before it can be a success. During the past week, the barge Valencia stranded in this cut, owing to the fact, that the current sweeps through the west embankment, causing the vessels using this cut to sheer very badly. ast fall the barge Alice with a cargo of grain struck from the same cause, at the samé place. I feel certain our Government is alive to the situation now, if it is not too late, and that these matters in the river will have attention. There should also bea general cleaning up of the new cuttings in the channel. —_$_$?___———_ oro EASTERN FREIGHT REPORT. Messrs. Funch, Edye & Co., New York, report the condiiion of the eastern freight market as follows: The freight market generally whilst showing a little more activity in the amount of business transacted, is not charac- terized by any material advance in rates. The fixtures re- ported for grain have increased, as compared with those ef- fected during last week and the rates obtained show a slight improvement over those previously paid. Quite a little bus- iness has been done in charters from the British Provinces for deals and in sympathy with other markets, the rates paid show a slight advance. The supply of available tonnage from the Atlantic ports is being gradually reduced, and whilst there is no special demand in any particular direction, the present indications point to a better market. We have no further transactions to report for the carrying of coal to the Mediterranean ports, but there is an increased inquiry for tonnage inthe direction of the River Plate, whence, we understand, there is likely to bea demand for tonnage to load grain. An increased volume of business has been done in time charters, but the fixtures effected are mostly for special trades, and in some cases have simply been renewals of previous charters. In regard to sail tonnage, we can only report a slightly greater activity in case oil charters to the far East at about former rates, otherwise the market shows no signs of im- provement.