The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

MARINE REVIEW. 9 -- ~ = = -- > = ae = Se ee SS ee ee oS Lou Cook of Detroit has bought the steamer J. H. Pauley. The consideration is said to be $12,000. The death of H. G. Morey, formerly a lake captain and resident of Buffalo, is announced from that city. A report from West Bay City says that F. W. Wheeler has sold a large tract of land north of the ship yard for $20,000. Capt. John Doherty, who will take command of the new Anchor line steamer Schuylkill, isin Cleveland preparing for the launch and fit-out of the boat. The "Providence" capstans made by the American Ship Windlass Company of Providence, R. I., are finding a ready sale in England and on the Clyde in competition with English capstans. Buffalo vessel owners seem to be determined in their efforts to establish a shipping office under the direction of the new Lake Carriers' Association. 'The local committee at Buffalo was well selected. Masters will be pleased to learn that the work of gath- ering material for a complete and correct chart of St. Mary's river has been commenced by United States Engineer Wheeler. He will make a complete survey. Capt. Rhynas' hosts of friends will be glad to hear that he is now rapidly recovering from his long and nearly fatal illness. He will probably be able to take his old berth on the steamer J. V. Moran next trip.--Detroit Free Press. Capt. John Hickler, who was in charge of the work of ex- cavation for the big dry dock at Port Huron, talks of building a small dock at Sault Ste. Marie. Idleness during winter months. would be against a big dock at the Sault. Capt. Peterson dropped dead aboard the schooner Bruce in tow of the Hiawatha about 4o miles from Detour, the cause be- ing heart disease. He was in the schooner Foster several sea- sons. His home was at Vermillion where he left a wife and two children. The New York, Ontario & Western Railroad is preparing to build an elevator at Oswego to hold from 350,000 to 500,000 bushels. It will take the place of those recently burned, and shows a disposition of that road to revive the grain trade of Oswego. : Through the enterprise of Duluth citizens in keeping a rep- resentative at Washington an appropriation of $3,000 was secur- ed in the civil sundry appropriation bill for lighting the channels in St. Louis and Superior bays. Chances for appropriations for other lights around the lakes are as yet doubtful. One of the Superior papers quotes Capt. Angus McDougall as saying that the barge company will begin work immediately on the passenger boat for the world's fair service. The boat will be 350 feet long instead of 500 feet. The officers of the barge company who have taken part with the Henry syndicate of Chicago in this passenger business are evidently in it for the purpose mainly of advertising the barges. If the boiler of Fulton's Clermont had exploded on the trial trip, and steam navigation had been called a failure it would have been about as reasonable as the unfavorable comment on the Baker sub-marine boat, because the electrical storage batteries exploded at Detroit last week while the boat was being inspected by a naval expert. The batteries will be replaced and new pumping machinery will be put in, so that within a few weeks something more may be heard from this sub-marine navi- gator. It is not probable that lake organizations will have to fight any more Detroit river bridge schemes. A proposition has been introduced in the house of representatives, authorizing the De- troit Railroad and Tunnel Company to construct a tunnel under that channel which is so important to lake navigation. The bill proposes that the top of the tunnel must be at least 30 feet below low water mark. One of the officers of the Michigan Central at Detroit is reported as saying in refering to this bill that since the success of the Port Huron tunnel was proven there was less pros- pect than ever that the Detroit river would be bridged. That company has backed all bridge schemes heretofore. The collision between the city of Mackinac and tug Wash- burn in the Detroit river Saturday night, through which John Huriey, vessel owner and business man of Detroit, and Engineer John Robinson of the same place lost their lives was a very sad affair. Had the steamer City of Mackinac been equipped with a search light it is thought the lives of the two men might have been saved. Mr. Hurley was aboard the tug Washburn, which had just delivered a tow line to his steamer Majestic, and En- gineer Robinson had boarded the tug after making a trip on the Majestic in place of his brother. The Majestic was bound up and the captain of the Mackinac also bound up, claims the lights of the tug were not visible until she left the steamer's side and was across his bows, when she was cut to the boilers. Anitem going the rounds of the daily papers reports the 1891 gross earnings of the Northern Steamship Company, Hill line operating between Buffalo and Superior, at $600,000. 'Ihe Northern Queen, according to the report, was the banner boat of the fleet of six steamers. Her gross earnings were $108,000. The Northern Wave comes next with gross earnings of $106,000. The balance of the fleet averaged a little over $95,000 each. 'Ihe distance from Superior to Buffalo, taking the course usually -- adopted by these vessels, is r,100 miles. The average time oc- cupied for a single trip is 77 hours, although a record of 73 hours has been made by some of them. 'The average time be- tween Buffalo and Detroit is 20 hours; Detroit and Fort Gratiot, 5 hours; Fort Gratiot to Detour, 17 hours; Detour to Sault canal, 5 hours; Sault canal to West Superior, 30 hours; total 77 hours. Affairs in Admiralty. In his decision in the case of Leathem & Smith of Sturgeon Bay against Pauly's steamer Roanoke, rendered at Milwaukee, Judge Jenkins condemed the practice of rebating to owners in salvage cases after the claims have been presented to the insur- ance companies. The casein which the decision was rendered grew out of a dispute between the owner of the Roanoke and Leathem & Smith as to the basis upon which the salvage claim was to be figured, and incidentally the practice of defrauding the insurance companies came to the notice of the court. _ The Roanoke was sunk Aug. 8, 1891, and the pumps which were used on the Roanoke were furnished by Leathem & Smith on a contract which, it is alleged, gave them $45 per day for the use of the large pump and $35 for the smaller one. They put in a bill for $2,627.92, which the master certified, but the owner refused to pay it on the ground that Leathem had promised a discount of 40 per cent. On_the trial the owner of the Roanoke testified that during the raising of the boat he had madea secret agreement with Leathem to charge the cargo in general average with the prices stated, while he paid only 60 per cent. of the amount. He stated that when Leathem proposed the reduction he had remarked that it was an "insurance job" and "we have got to get these bills up as high as we can." He had estifnated that the cargo would pay 9% per cent. of the cost. In defense of the action it was stated that the reduction was offered to en- courage the owner, who had become discouraged at the repeated failures to get the boat in dry dock, but the court took a differ- ent view of the matter. After reviewing the circumstances at- tending the offer the court said: "Such an offer is susceptible of but one interpretation. It wasa bold suggestion to defraud the underwriters.'" According to a decision in the common pleas court at Cleveland on Saturday last, John Corrigan will not have to pay the county treasurer the sum of $1,385.83, claimed as taxes on the schooners David Dows and George W. Adams. Mr. Cor- rigan commenced proceedings against the county treasurer, and secured an injunction restraining him from collecting the taxes on the schooners. They were placed on the tax duplicates at $44,250, but Mr. Corrigan claimed that he purchased the Adams and a seven-eigth interest in the Dows of the Ohio Central Barge and Coal Company of Toledo, and immediately conveyed them back to that company, taking a chattel mortgage for. $90, - ooo. He set up a claim that his interest was only equitable and that he could be taxed only for that interest. The decision of the common pleas court made the injunction perpetual,