British Whig (Kingston, ON), April 14, 1884

p.2 a letter to editor about swing bridge accident as reported in Saturday's News; ferryman was accused of not being helpful and asking for exhorbitant fee of 5 cents. - signed Ferryman.

p.3

TRIP FROM CLAYTON.

On Saturday afternoon a party of some fifteen Kingstonians, who have been employed upon the new steamer St. Lawrence, building for Barker & Folger, at Clayton, decided to visit Kingston and spend Sunday at their homes. Among the party were Newton, Johnson, Pigeon, Harold, Hunter, Thorn and Mcconagby, carpenters; Nicholson, blacksmith; Knox, Dine, Close and Derry, boiler makers. In high spirits they left Clayton in the steam yacht H.P. Shoecraft, belonging to W. Rees, of Clayton.

(met with ice, had to walk part way, then take ice boat - details)

The str. St. Lawrence will be the handsomest and probably the fastest boat on the river. She is 160 ft. long, 40 ft. wide, and 7 ft. 6 in. depth of hold. The hull is composite, and the point of the bow is only an inch in thickness. The upper works will be as ornamental as money can make them, and between panels and carved finishings the appearance of the boat will be strikingly beautiful. The engine came from Montreal, and has a walking beam, and is calculated to drive the steamer through the water at the rate of 18 miles an hour. The boiler which the Kingsfords, of Oswego, are building is an 8 ft. shell, 16 ft. long, 11 ft. from the top to the bottom of the furnace, and 11 ft. 2 in. wide at the bottom of the furnace. The shell is 1/2 inch shell plate and will carry 990 lbs. steam. It has a grate surface of 10 ft. long by 7 ft. wide. The wheels are being made at the Kingston Foundry. Each wheel will be 17 ft. in diameter and have ten buckets, 5 ft. 5 1/2 in. long and 2 ft. 6 in. wide. The bed plate of the engine was laid on Thursday, and the work upon the machinery will be rushed. It is hoped to have the steamer finished by the second week in July. Excursionists down the river will be able to have a squint at her before then.

MARINE INTELLIGENCE.

The schr. Gazelle, Capt. Cornelius, will leave for Deseronto on Wednesday.

The schr. H. Dudley left for Long Island where she will load 15,000 bush. barley for Richardson & Son. She will go to Oswego again.

The M.T. Company claim that their tug men find no difficulty in towing vessels through Cataraqui bridge. They do not think that their wharf interferes with navigation in the least.

The following vessels are at Brockville, Morristown and Ogdensburg: Schrs. Lem Ellsworth, Moysotis (sic), Florida, Gashawk (sic - Goshawk ?), Havana, F.J. King, O.M. Bond, Mary Copley, A. Smith, Itasca, Annie P. Drover, Jennie Matthews, E.P. Beel, W.J. Preston, A.L. Andrews, E.R. Williams, W.H. Rounds and Ganges.

Capt. Dan R. Macdonald, formerly on a propeller line running from St. Catharines to Montreal, has been appointed by the U.S. Government to look after its property on the lakes.

The schr. Herbert Dudley left Richardson's wharf on Thursday afternoon at 4 o'clock with grain for Oswego. She reached her destination on Friday morning at six o'clock, without encountering ice on the way. She was delayed some time in Oswego, in getting her centre board thawed out, but returned to Kingston on Saturday afternoon. The ice had jammed so compactly in the harbour that it was impossible to get through it, and the vessel lay opposite Simcoe Island until yesterday afternoon.

Inspector Adams, of Kingston, was in Belleville on Friday and inspected a new boiler for the steambarge Saxon. He also inspected the boiler in the ferry steamer Mary Ethel, which he condemned on the ground that certain repairs had not been made which were necessary.

A rumour gained circulation amongst vesselmen in Chicago to the effect that the rates between Kingston and Montreal will be advanced this season. The grain dealers say that if this is so the St. Lawrence route will be effectually closed so far as the western grain trade is concerned, especially as the rate on grain from Chicago to New York by rail is 12 1/2 cents per 100 lbs. To ascertain if there was any truth in the statement a member of the Montreal Transportation Company was asked about it, and he said: "The rates are the same as they were last year."