British Whig (Kingston, ON), 17 Jul 1897

p.1

SKILLFUL WRECKING FEAT.

Alderman James Stewart returned this morning from Morrisburg, after having engineered the work of raising the barge Siren, which went aground in the middle of Rapide du Plat a few days ago. He is quite bronzed and weather-beaten after the exposure and hard work incident to the difficult task which was so successfully carried out.

Mr. Stewart left Kingston for the scene of the accident on Saturday and on Sunday returned to Garden Island for the hull of the old steamer John A. Macdonald. This was sunk a short distance from the Siren, so as to form an eddy to permit of the workmen approaching the barge. To keep the Macdonald in position 150 tons of stone were loaded on her. The Siren was then relieved of enough of her cargo to lighten her to five feet draught, that being the depth of water on the shoal. A twelve inch wrecking hawser, 120 feet long was then brought into requisition, passed over to the tug Reginald, and the Siren was safely taken to Morrisburg. The current where she went aground ran at the rate of from ten to twelve miles an hour.

The Montreal Gazette says: "Great credit is due to James Stewart of the K. & M. F. company, together with Calvin's wrecker T. Brian, for the skilful manner in which they engineered the job, and Capt. Murphy assisted greatly. A more skilful piece of wrecking work was never seen on the St. Lawrence river."

Should Not Injure Mooers' Company.

Kingston, July 17th - To the Editor:

I notice in your paper of the 16th, the report of one of the committee who interviewed Messrs. McLennan and Thomson of the Montreal transportation company, Montreal, where they say they must follow the trade to Prescott if necessary, and further that they will take a bonus and build an elevator here. I would ask the public if they cannot read between the lines what that means. I certainly think it means to offer all the opposition they can to the present company that is beginning the construction of the elevator, just bonused, and I think that in all fairness to the first offer made, the aldermen should not do anything to injure it, and would advise that no action be taken until it has been ascertained whether one elevator can do all that is required of it or not. FAIR PLAY.

IN MARINE CIRCLES.

The steamer Norwalk, Chicago, corn laden, is in Lake Ontario bound for this port.

The schooner Albacore, Marquette, timber, is on her way down the lake bound for Collins Bay.

The steamer Corsican on her trip from Montreal to Toronto called at Swift's wharf at one o'clock this afternoon.

The R. & O. steamer Spartan carrying 160 passengers, called at Swift's wharf this morning, on her way from Toronto to Montreal.

The schooners Wells and Freeman and steamer Topeka cleared yesterday for Oswego to load coal. The first two mentioned will return to this port. The last named goes up the lake.

p.2

YACHT RACES MONDAY.

W.Q. Phillips, Clinton, who will have charge of the yacht races here on Monday, as representative of the L.Y.R.A., arrived in the city last evening and is the guest of the Kingston yacht club. He was pleased that all the preliminaries for the coming meet have been perfected.

One of the best sites from which to witness the yacht races on Monday will be Macdonald Park. Every manoeuvre can from there be seen from start to finish.

J.M. Farrell will act as assistant to W.Q. Phillips during the races.

Mrs. Calvin has kindly loaned her steam yacht Bluebell to the yacht club for the day. It will be used by the association official, his assistant and press representatives.

The yacht Mantless, of the Oswego club, entered in the twenty-seven foot class this morning.

The Kingston club is offering better purses than any other clubs in the circuit. The Royal Canadian club, Toronto, offers three prizes for first class yachts, and in this respect only is the Kingston prizes bettered, only one purse being put up here.

p.6

RULES FOR REGATTA.

Following are the rules for the guidance of competitors in Monday's regatta:

If a red flag be hoisted at the club house, all buoys, including the house buoy, will be left to port, and the yachts will proceed to the south-westerly buoy, thence to the house buoy, thence to the easterly buoy, then to the home buoy.

Should a blue flag be hoisted, all buoys, including the home buoy, will be left to starboard, and the yachts will proceed to the easterly buoy, thence to the home buoy, thence to the south-westerly buoy, thence to home buoy.

All classes will go twice around the above course, except the twenty-two foot class, which will go around once.

A time-gun will be fired from the club house at 9:30 a.m.; a second gun will be fired from the same place at 9:50, as a preparatory signal for the first class; a third gun will be fired at 10 a.m. as a signal for boats of the first class to start; a fourth gun will be fired at 10:10 a.m. as a signal for the forty-two-foot class yachts to start; a fifth gun, fired at 10:20 a.m. will be the signal for the thirty-seven foot class to start; a sixth gun, fired at 10:30 a.m., will be the signal for the thirty-two foot class to start; a seventh gun, fired at 10:40 a.m., will give the signal for the twenty-seven foot class to start; at 10:50 a.m. an eighth gun will be fired as a signal for the twenty-two foot class to start. The starting gun in each class will represent the preparatory signal for the next class. The time limit for each class will be six hours. On the firing of the preparatory signal for each class the yachts will be under the rules of the L.Y.R.A.

A New Steamboat Company.

[Watertown, N.Y., Standard]

Within a very short time a new steamboat company will be organized and incorporated. This new company will purchase the Island Belle and the New Island Wanderer, now owned by Messrs. Holmes and Inglehart, and operate a new line on the St. Lawrence river over the same territory which the Alexandria Bay company covered. The two boats will be run in competition to the Thousand Island steamboat company, and a stronger steamboat war than ever will be waged. The new company will be composed of Jefferson county men.