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8 MARINE REVIEW. SE A EE NE ET Ia ET CT ee Sr SE MARINE REVIEW. DEVOTED TO THE LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED INTERESTS. JOHN M. MULROONEY, ee ee Dee F. M. BARTON, HOMER J. CARR, - - - Associate Editor and Manager Chicago Office, 210 South Water Street. Published every Thursday at No. 510 Perry-Payne Building, Cleveland, O. SUBSCRIPTION—$2.00 per year in advance. Advertising rates on applica- tion. os \ Proprrerors. The books of the United States treasury department contain the names of 3,510 vessels, measuring 1I,063,063.90 tons in the lake trade. In classification of this fleet the lakes have more steamboats of 1,000 to 2,500 tons than the combined ownership of this class of vessels in all other sections of the country. The classification is as follows: Class. Number. Tonnage. SLBA VESSELS 22 os sankiesuneskvcwen ssevsspponisss cue 1524, 652,922.25 MIBMAIO VERSES ccrisccasesswi 6 NpeesUseatnescvises 13272 328,655.96 ASFA WOAGS wchcucs savin is ccstacescecseduusdesssess¥s 657 67,574.90 BOE SACO acre cccws saccuasetovck ey eueeevaveta was sc cs suaes 54 13,910.09 ROU sbeierktas cates tldeas siaguin tence ox 3,510 1,063,063.90 According to the report of William W. Bates, United States com- missioner of navigation, 46 per cent. of the new tonnage of the country was built on the lakes during 1889. This is a percentage greater than the work of the Atlantic coast and western rivers combined, and almost equal to the whole work on the Atlantic and Pacific coast. In 1890 the tonnage built on the lakes is but very little less than that built on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Tonnage built on the lakes during the past five years wasas follows : No. of boats. Net Tonnage. POG isauieacuaecsecuesenceseusstuccossecsstteess 85 20,400.54 BAS Joh ceec see watebeL susie ekinwsacaeasssecubaccesd 152 56,488.32 PRS es coeds chee lawsisesasaesssse-scecsca scares 222 101,102.87 MRO cp Cskip esc bctesushssccestscSsansssen resets 225 107,080.30 TQ see cote see sb scape kas Sve down ceive 218 108,515.00 ARES rt PR gn a eile OU aa eS 902 393,597-03 St. Mary’s Falls and Suez canal trafic: Number of boats through St. Mary’s Falls canal in 1890, 234 days of navigation, 10,557; tonnage, net registered, 8,454,435. Number of boats through Suez canal during 18g0, full year, 3,389; tonnage, net registered, 6,890,014. Annual tonnage entries and clearances of the great seaports of the world, for 1889: New York, 11,051,236 tons; all seaports in the United States, 26,983,315 tons; Liverpool, 14,175,200 tons; London, 19,245,417 tons. Tonnage passing through Detroit river during 234 days of naviga- tion in 1889, amounted to 36,203,606 tous. Ten million tons more than the entries and clearances of all the seaports in the United States, and three million tons more than the combined foreign and coastwise shipping of Liverpool and London. Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. PRESIDENT T. D. LEpyArpD and other officials of the Mich- igan Central Railway Company visited Windsor one day last week and turned over a shovelfull of earth at the point where it is proposed to have the approach of the proposed tunnel begin. Chief Engineer Hawks performed this littleceremony with a brand new spade, and a big dinner followed. It wasmerely a ceremony, however, as it was meant fora technical compliance with the Canadian charter, which provided for the work being begun before May 1. The authority to construct a tunnel under the river has not as yet been given to anyone by the United States government, and, notwithstanding this formal move on the part of the Michigan Central, it has not been learned that the officers of that company have given up the idea of a high bridge. ‘They will probably be heard from in the next congress. Ir would seem from the manner in which the people of Hancock and Houghton are dealing with the matter of a second bridge across Portage lake that there will be no need of vessel owners worrying over navigation being obstructed at that point. The citizens have secured authority from the general govern- ment to build the bridge under certain conditions, and from the state to issue bonds for its construction, but it would seem from the manner in which the county officials have been dealing with the Portage Lake Bridge Company, the corporation owning the bridge now in use, that the aim is to buy the structure and make it free. At last accounts the board of supervisors had decided to offer the bridge company $30,000 for the bridge, but it was not known whether the offer would be accepted or not. A MovEMENT has been started in England to provide for an international system of buoys. The matter was overlooked at the International Marine Conference, Washington. The advan- tage of uniformity in the matter of aids to navigation will be appreciated at once. But in addition to this an effort will be made to have maritime nations contribute to a fund which shall be used for the purpose of marking of important channels that belong to no nation. If the former plan succeeds the lakes would shortly be included in the provision. In fact the gas buoys already provided for will probably be the universal choice of all maritime powers. Tsu attention of the senatorial committee on Canadian re- lations, in session in Detroit last week, was directed to the exist- ing trouble regarding wrecking in the waters of the two coun- tries. Senator Gray and other members of the committee pro- nounced the laws as they now stand a disgrace to humanity and civilization. ‘The last congress agreed to reciprocity in wrecking on the lakes but Canada would not meet the offer. It was. pro- bably not the disposition of the Canadian people that caused this offer to be rejected. The Canadian wrecking companies, several of which are backed by American capital, had most to do with it. Ir is unfortunate that the war department did not succeed in arranging details connected with the transfer of the Portage lake canals to the government in time for the opening of navi- gation this season. Detail in connection with titles still delays the transfer, although the appropriation was secured by the river and harbor bill of September last. Tolls are being collected, but the work of dredging has been suspended by the canal company and it is now given outthat an announcement of the purchase may be expected from Washington at any time. . ‘THE Canadians are seeking reciprocity and at the same time favoring their own tonnage and their own shipping ports in mat- ters pertaining to Welland canal tolls, in which all tonnage should be treated alike. Would it not be well at this time to call the attention of our government to the injustice of the present system of rebateson grain. The MARINE REVIEw will do its share in presenting this question to the officials in Washington. We will publish next-week from an excellent source an article bearing on this matter of tolls. Canadian Ranges at the Lime-Kilns. A circular from William Smith, deputy minister of marine, of Canada, says regarding the new crib lights at the Lime-Kilns: “The temporary range lights, maintained by the Canadian government below the dredged channel at the Lime-Kiln cross- ing in the Detroit river, opposité Amherstburg railway station, will be discontinued on May 1, and replaced by two permanent structures which will show the alignment of the centre of the 400 feet wide dredged channel. The buildings consist of iron skeleton towers, surmounted by metal lanterns. The front light is situated on a crib-work pier in 6 feet of water, opposite Fort Malden on the east and the head of Bois Blanc island on the west, above Amherstburg. This light will be fixed white, elevated 31 feet above the ordinary level of the river, and should be visible two miles in the line of range. The illuminating apparatus is catoptric. The height of the tower from the pier to the vane on the lantern is 30 feet. The back range building is situated 890 feet S. 1-10 E. from the front light, on a pier in 4 feet of water. The light will be fixed red, catoptric, elevated 51 feet above the water, and should be visible two miles in the line of range. The height of the tower is 50 feet. ‘T‘he alignment of these lights can be kept from its intersection with the alignment of the head of Bois Blanc island range northward to its inter- section with the alignment of the United States range lights at the head of Grosse isle. The magnetic declination at this point is about 45 minutes westwardly.”’ 2