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LAKE IMPROVE MENTS. Colonel R. C. Parsons, of Cleveland, made | To the Editor of the Marine Record: a most forcible and acceptuble argument in favor of the Grosse Point channel improve- ment at the head of the Detroit river, upon the St.Clair flats. before the river and harbor committee of the house. ‘The room was crowded, and the committee full. Culonel Parsons spoke entirely without notes, suve as he referred to statistics and the chart be- fore him. He completely enlisted the atten- tion of the committee and answered re- peated questions of members with readiness, showing his complere knowledge of the commerce of the lakes. Spraxing of the improvement asked for he raid: “No man, however brilliant hie imagina- tion, can scarcely grasp the almost limitless wealth of the commerce of these great in- land seas. Over this identical spot congress is asked tofimprove there passes every year a richer traffic than the value of the whole annual toreign trade of the United States i | Newsora, O., March 10. In your last issue there is a letter pub- lished under the heading, “Variation and Deviation of the Compass,” and although I have honestly tried to follow the sense of it there sre passages in which I get lett entirely in a fog. For instance, the writer of the letter says that the variation of the compass is evidently i greatest in high latitude, and least near the equator. This is not evident to me at all, and I consider the assertion an error, but whether it has crept in between the writer’s pen and the printer’s type, cr from a total misunderstanding of the subject, we do not know. Secondly, in speaking of finding the cor- rect deviation of the compass as a simple matter to an experienced navigator, and to be determined by taking azimuth’s ampli- tudes, ete., all very right and proper, yet with the entire world, Last year the ton-| I fail to realize just how s mple it is to nage passing over these S'. Clair marshes keep a correct deviation card when, in was over 20,000,000 tons of freight, 100,000] twentv-‘our hours, I might have just as passengers, und 37,420 pasrages of vessels. Over one hundred vessels went ashore here last season at the cost of yexutious delays, lightering of cargoes, and loss of valuable time, as well as damage to vessel and own- many errors to allow for, without, perhaps, having the chance of finding the correction to be applied. In the case of a compass be- ing affected by deviation, an amplitude, ac curately observed, would only give the error } a-0l Adal ankvas rs ers. The necessity for deeper water arises’ for the point the vessel’s head was on at the mainly from lower water and the use of larger steamers engaged in trade necessary to carry on business with profit. In 1887 sixteen steamers were built upon the lakes, costing $200 000: ach, drawing seventeen feet time of the observation, and it would be any- thing but correct to try and steady the ves- sel’s head on another point to obrain a second amplitude; while in the event of having two or three compasses on the vessel, ‘ A 2 5 sur i kin of water, and nineteen steamers costing] each one accurate and in good working $135,000 each. “Tt does not matter to my constituents,”’ said Colonel Parsons, “nor to the commer- cial representatives of the great cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, Duluth, Toledo, De- troit, and «ther places, whose resolutions lie before you, that no survey has been ordered by congress at this pint. There has been no time since the failure of the appropriation bill and the inadequacy of the channel last season to ask congress for such action, We believe this committee can judge for itself of the pressing necessity of this improve- ment. Let this channel fail by reason of still lower water in the lake, and you arrest and destroy the richest and mort important traffic in the world. You bankrupt the cities and country from the Atlantic to the Pacitic. This committee hus no right to rest upon a mere technical objection to this im- _ provement, because it has not already tol- Jowed a purely technical path to reach you. We have the right to come to yon directly, state our case, tell you our needs, ask your id, and expect the necessary relief. Eight eat states touch the borders of these lakes, f Lake Superior Jies a boundless ter- y soon to swarm with millions of active ne. Here is the land for the landless, land, enongh to make fifteen great states - the size of Ohio, and its vast commerce finds its way eastward over these lakes, and every pound of it must pass over this identical spot.” 3 in reply toa member of the committee who asked, “Where does the bulk of this great commerce from the west go??? Colonel Parsons responded: “After supplying the local demands of the lakes it rushes like a torrent to the Atlantic seaboard, thence to find its way to other lands,’* “Why don’t your people insist upon a waterway connection from Lake Ontario to the seaboard, or from Buffalo direct to the ocean?” was then asked, 10 which Colonel Parsons replied: ‘‘We dobelieve that the time will come when statesmen can be found who will be wise and sagacious enough to provide water communication from the head of Lake Superior to the salt waters of the Atlantic. Some day it will be. I intend,” said Colonel Parone, “to make this my spe- cial business. Justassoon as I am re-elected to congress, then I am cure it will be Gone.” This response caused general laughter, Colonel Parsons read a letter from General Poe to President Hanna, of Cleveland, warmly endorsing the proposed measure. He also gave the number of vessels owned on the lakes, tonnage, and numbers owned by the d fferent states, and tonnage. He concluded his remarks by an urgent appeal to the committee to take prompt action in the matter, insisting that no more important matter could claim their attention. Colonel Parsons was congratulated at the close of his argument, anda delegation from Maryland waiting to be heard before the comm '‘ttee followed him to the hall, andvits chairman warmly congratulated him upon the felicitous manner in which he bad urged his case. ee S. B. Grummond is now the owner ot nine tugs. His latest purchase was the tug Christian. order, but differing from each other on al- most every point of the circle, as is o'ten the ease, then the navigator does not find it always so simple and easy a problem to know just what each of bis compasses is going to indicate when he requires to alter his course, The formula is also given for finding the correction of the compass in high latitudes, end the deviation, as shown by the compass is said to be the true variation found. In the name of common sense will the writer please to state the difference between varia- :ion and devia‘ion. If so, I will promise to endeavor to catch the meaning of his ex- planation. Aguin, it is stated that masters on the Jakes should have a knowledge of these simple methods in correcting a faulty com. pase. Well, of course, opinions may differ, but an jnrregularly working cc mpuss ought to be discarded, or if otherwise faulty, should be remedied by a skilled mechanic at home and not sent on to the bureau of navigation at Washington for repairs, as I beard of a captain doing last year. However, the com. pass was returne’% about the sameasit was sent, and I suppose the clerks had a smile at the blissful ignorance of the sender. The frank opinion offered as to the revival of the laws of navigation not being neces- sary is charming in its simplicity; and as regards the revisal of masters, all present requirements are met and fiiled. J.S. AN OVERLADEN SAILING-SHIP. The British merchantshipping acer, of 1876. which provides for the detention and survey of ships by the board of trade, upon thre being reason to believe that the vessel de- tained is unseaworthy on the ground of overloading, also contains a provision that either the board of trade or the owner of the ship may refer any dis}ured case to a court of survey, the constitution of which is also pre-cribed by that act. Our readers will remember that, a little over two years ago, the board ot trade adopted the tables of tree- board which had been compiled by a repre- sentative commiitee appointed by Mr, Cnam- berlain, when president of the board, At the same time, they entered into an agree- ment with Lioyd’s Registry, by which they recognized the load-lines marked by the Reg- istry in accordance with the tables, Since that time numerous vesse!s,to’h sailing ships and steamers, have been marked by Lloyd’s Registry, at the request of the owners, as may be seen by the large number of re- corded freeboards given in the 1887 volume of the R-gister. Meanwhile, the board of trade survey staff have been active in detaining overladen vessels, and have, in fact, detained, or warned a large number io spite of the apparent com. plexity of the new rules, which renders their ready application a matter of some little difficulty. A recent ease of such detention is remarkable, as bring the first in which a court of survey has been called to decide a case of overloading since the promulgation of the new tables. The couri sat at Liver- porl, and consisted of the wreck commis- sioner and assessors; the assessors being Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, K, ©, B., late director of naval construction, aud Captain Martin, of Liverpool. ‘I'he vessel in question was the tour-masted sailing ship County of Edin- burgh of 2,160 tons gross. She was marked and loaded to a freeboard of 5 feet 1 inch. The board of trade contended for a free- board amidships of 5 feet 9 inches, The court gave judgment, and ordered the ship to be lightered to the latter figures; and. in giving a brief account of the case, we can not do better than folllow the order which the wreck commissioner adopted in his very lucid statement of the case. The board of trade based their case entirely upow the load-line committee’s tubles, and upor their interpretation of them; but for the owner it was contended, in the first place that the vessel had sailed at the same free board for two previous voyages with good results; and in the second pire», that 2% inches per foot depth of hold, or 5 feet Linen side, was enough for the vessel. Ou the owner’s side, also, one technical witness di-- puted some of the details of the application of the tables to the case of the vessel. A former master of the ship gave evidence that the ship was a very dry one when im- wersed fuily to her lond line dise, and only took in water occasionally over the bow; but the effect of this evidence 448 materially wenkened by the fyet that entries in the log- book were quite ineonsi-tent with it, As regards the treeboard being suffivient, what- ever the roles might require, tue owner pro- duced a number of wi nesses. marine sure! veyors, who had seen the v-seel and who were of opinion that the freeboard mark: d was sufficient. Ono this the wreck couwmi - sioner remarked that he had thought th ¢ such a way of considering the question f freeboard, which might be exlled by rule cf thumb, was exploted. Ir can obviously, henceforth, be of no use,in any contested case of freeboxrd, to produce evidence de- rived from individval experience ‘at sea, where such evidence is opposed to the tree- | board tables, They represent the results |arrived at by a representative committee, who bad at their command the generaliz d experience of the past. The conimuriee took evidence wherever it was offered, and ar- rived at a unanimous conelnsion, No mere individual experience 1s of avail against this, and we presume that, in future, such will not be put forward, Coming bow to the conten'ion regarding matters of detail, it is Sardly necessary to Say much except upon one point, The fignres of the board of trade surveyors were challenged iv three places, but two of them were mére matters Of Measurement involy- ing no principle, and of them it's sufficient to say that the court was satistied of the substantial accuracy of the measuremen's put forward, The important question Was aa to the allowance to be given tor deck erections, The erections in the County ot Edinburgh are a torecastle about one-eighth the length of the ship, a very short ponp, extending only abou: 9 feet forward of the stern-poat, but having at its tore-side an iron house, partial y attached to it, The house is 87 fee long, and on each side o 1 there is av open space between it and the bulwarks between 8 and 9 feet wide. Besides this there are two other houses. The load-line committee’s rules make no allowance for houses not ex. tended to the sides of the ship, but the owner contended that this was a sp: cially- Mhe Marine Record. A new method ly first-class Merchant tailoring gis adopted by Jos. L. Kohn, vracticn! calor and eutter, 213 Detroit street, sevond door from corner Pearl, namely: To take measures and make to order geqin the nebbiest style, according to monimnly new | inches. Cheap for cash. tushion plates, Gent’s, finest Dress Suits, Business Suits, single Pants and Vests tor the same prices! us u-ually charged for ready- made clorhing store garments, Excellent workmanship and perfeet fit are guaranteed. or garments wi'l not be delivered antil the enstomer’s satisfacien is reached. Doing his own cutting (which alone saves $30 per wrek.)and «ther economical measures, saves the customer all onnecesanry taxes, Propeller Wheeis. FoR BARGES, TUG*, CANAL BOATS AND YACHTS Two, Three or Four Blades for SPEED OR TOWING 12 Inches to 14 feet in Diameter VULC!N IRON WORKS 80 NORTH CLINTON ST-, CHICAGO; ILL. P. HY. DOYLE, PRACTICAL STEAM FITTER AND MECHANICAL ENGINEER, ENGINERS,’ SUPPLIES O° ALL KINDS, Rubder Goods ayd Packings Con stantly Kepton Hane, Parttcnlar atlention paid to vessel wark, AIR PUMP VALVES A SPECIALTY. 81 Main st., Cleveland, O. Established in 1859. HENRY LEOPOLD. Manufacturer and Dealer in all kindsof fiae and plain FURNITURE & UPHOLSTERY, And Manufacturer of Counters, Shelving, Bank and Bar-room Fixtures. Mattrasses and Vessel Furnitur A SPECIALTY. Warerooms 798 and 800 Lorain-st., near Fui- ton. Factory 10 Witlet-st. CLEVELAND, OHIO. Cleveland Dry Dock Co, Shipbuilding, Drydocking, Re- From constructed ve-sel, and that there should be some such allowance, Ti may be mentioned that the clause of the tables allowing tor a poop and toreeastl. does so by asliding scale, in which a short poop and forecastle have a greater allow- ance in porportion to their length than longer erections of the same kind. If, how. ever, there is only a forecastle, the allowance is but half that which would be given, sup- posing there were, in addition, a poop of the same length. It thus happeus that a poop and forecastle of the combined length of say 40 feet, would entitle the ve-se) ton larger allowance than if there were a fote castle only, which was 40 teet long. This appears to be reasonable, and to be based upon a due recognition of the importance of position as well us size in deck erections, Tr was thus that the County of Edinburgh benefited much in assigned treeboard by having a poop, although the poop was of very small dimensions. Against the claim tor additional allow- ance for the iron houses. Sir Digby Mur- ray, on behals of the board of trade, gave ‘nportant evidence which really decided the question, In the firs: place he proved tbat the absence of provision tor deck houses in the freeboard tables was no mere lapse, but was intentional, since the load line com. m‘ttee did not recognize apy such value in these erections as would entitle them to count in qnestions of freeboard. Further they were of no value as lifting power to the ship when among waves. In fact, houses not extet.ding the whole breadth of the ship were of the slightest possible ad- vantage from any point of view, and they entailed the serious disadvai tige that water was kept between them and the bulwarka and thus there was a source of danger to seainen. As we have already snid, the deci sion was that the vessel should be required to have a freehourd of 6 feet 9 inches.— Nautical Magazine. ——_—$ = Thisigswhaialinelooksikewit ‘cut'rimming, pairing and Spar Making, CLEVELAND, OHIO. BEESON’S SAILOR’S HAND BOOK, And Synopsis of Marine Laws. Hvety ves- se] man wantsone. Fur sale by marine clerk at allenstam honses, Price 50c. See tt, pap SCHOGNER LEN HIGBY— Capacity 55,000 feet of lumber, good condition, D. A. BO sm FOR SALE. at oe allsand outfit Repairs made in:1887, ‘Address 4 ELKENS, 92 sod 94 Third Street, Muskegon, Mich, : STEAMBOAT FUR SALE. © RST-CLASS in every respect. Nearly iéwW. = pacity —400,000 feet lumber, 650 tank ok ek ho tons of co 1, 25.000 busheis of grain, and io additien the best tow boat on the lakes and the most econom- ical of fuel, Present o vners no further use for her. Address LUMBER, care of Clowry, S_W. Div. P.0., Chicago, Il. FOR SALE, GE COL. BRACKEL—She car J lumber, 420 tons of coal. Had 3000 Spears ey piirs last season. Fit out good. Price $1,600. Men- lion this paper. ED, J. KENDALL, Port Huron: — ARTHUR & BOYLE Steamboats, Tugs, etc , Coaled Day and Night. DEALERS IN LACKAWANNA ANTHRACITE COAL Doeks; Ft. West River St., Whisky Island, C. P. R’y. Slip, Gov ernment OFFICE 130 RIVER-ST.. CLEVELAND, OHIO | | iS TEAMBARGE MON ITOR—Length of hull 96 fee breadth of be»m 23 feet, depth of hold 7 feet Boiler 5 feet by 12 feet. Eugive 14 by 16 inches, Also. two scows. Length 125 feet, breadth 30 feet, hold 8 feet, tight and dry, and freight of any kind ean be loaded in the hold. Also, steambarges, tugs 1nd vessels. Address, DAVIDSON & HOLMES, 225 Water St. Chichago, Tl. FOR SALE, CHOONER JOHN M. HUTCHINSON—Buikt by Quayle & Marin. Ca acity, 1900 to 2.000 tons Im quire of FRANK PEREW, Buffalo, N. Y. HARBOR TUG FOR SALE. NHE TUG MYRTLE, of Sandusky, Ohio, for sale cheap. Is in first-class cundition. Kor Lesines v lars write to FRED GROCH. Sands ! FOR SALE. ROPELLER TOLEDO—About 700 tons capacity. Apply to EB.R ¥ARD. 51 Griswold Street, Detriit Mich. FOR SALE. CHOONER CITY OF SHEBOYGAN—Rebuilt last ‘tall. Entire new outfit of ails, ~i aud cabin furniture For further particulars address : F. HERHOLD & SONS. 160 W. Erie St , Chicago, TI. FoR SALE T]\HE powerful tug J. W. Bennett. Length over all I 95 feet, breadth 17 feet, depth of hold 9f et, traws 9 feet of water. Engine 22 by 24. For prices and ia- formation address SANDUSKY STEAMBOAT & FISHING CO., dandusky, Ohio, FOR SALE. JHE TUG CAL DAVI+—Over all 65 feet, beam 14 1: fovt, depth of hold 644 feet, draws 7 feet of water. Has boiler allowed 90 pou dsof steam, outhoard shaft — (no engine.) All in good ¢ ndition. Pric+, $1,2u0. For further information »ddress é HENRY LAY & CO., Sandusky, Ohio, FOR SALE, iE THE SCHOONER VENTURE—Length £0) fests breadth 15 feet, depth of hold 4 fee , el ity i ee tons; built in 188%. Address WM. FAKAGHE z 88 West linton St., Cleveland, 0. A2 VESSELS WANTED. i bs | ie EXCHANGE for improved Ruffalo ay eee ig erty, three-fourths of a mile from Ci.y Hall, West Side. Fine dwelli_g houses that always rent. Address, M. BROS,, 22 Root St., Buffalo. N. ¥. FOR SALE. HE SCHOONER E. M. STANT) )N—Capacity, 190M Jumber, or 5,000 cedar ties. Sails and outfit in vod condition. Extensive repairs iu 1880. ‘ 2, 800 cash. » Address E. JOHANSON, 335 Dayton St., J" ica o, IIL FOR SALE. : OR SALE, and must be sold quick—Too F partners. Propeller Benton, A2. Aversge load, 300M. Barge Midnight, A2, Average load 385M. Burge Ro-cius, B44. Average load, $6,000M. _ Terms to suit purchasers if parties good. For far. ther particulars, eee a Ged. 6 . D. FISHER, Cley: Fr KE. J. VANCE Bay City, Mich! FOR SALE, Re: UG ANNIE ROBERTS9N--Length 51 feet, nae > allowed 15 * ee 18 feet 6 inches, depth 6 feet, engioe 14 be square, and new steel boiler list August, fee Ibs of steam. For further information enquire of — LAY BROS,, Sardusky. Ohio. : FOR SALE. s QCHOONER VERNIE M. BLAKE—E 19 foot 6 inchens & mth of hak ohaar eee ee! loches, pi of hot eet ne Address 22 fertitt street, Cleveland FOR SALE, EGE Steamers Russell Sage, John (. Gault, a L_Hopkias, all io fiestas pay Pirin hy For full particulars a'ldvess i Al, tHE FINK f0N TUG M. D. CAR Length of Koe! 67 oe breadth of beaut if igh pressure eogine a ry 3 eet long, 6! 8 inches diameter. She is tn excellent my further particul ors apnly to condi ton WO STEAM FERRY BOATS—wWill ¢at: that will cleat $f,5 a year. A party is not a practical Marine man and is en, A W. COLTON, Manager, Toledo, depth 8 fet 8 inches. 23 inches stroke; boiler 14 A. RUWLLE, 372 Atwater Street, Der uy passengers each; also, good-will and duck | fe e business, offers for salé entire business or FOR SALE: ee RINGTO! diameter, FOR SALE. : leges » ferry boats are operated on a one-third interest to aipable patty to take fulr e $2, h; balance on ofsame. Price, $3,900. 109 ctsh ; Write for particulars. Aarons ‘ tint MARINE RECORD, Clevela; VLAN, SIGNAL LAMPS For Steamers and Sailing Vessels. PATENT FLUTED LENS 2 PE GET THE BEST AND These Lamps give a more brillant French Wrought Iran of all Sizes for Ste FELTHOUSEN 139 & 141 MAIN in use. They haye been adopted by the principal Ocean and Lake Steamers - Over Ten Thousand Now in Use. WE ALSO MANUFACTURE THE CELEBRATED Steamboat Copper, Tin, and Sheet Iron Workers, RFECT COLORS. AVOID COLLISIONS. = ne light than any Signal Lamp now UW Ranges and Broilers amers and Hotels. & Russet, ST., BUFFALO, N. Y, = y