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a» 1898. ] MARINE REVIEW. REVENUE CUTTER MORRILL. THE VESSEL RECENTLY TRANSFERRED FROM THE ATLANTIC COAST FOR SERVICE ON THE GREAT LAKES--BUILT BY THE PUSEY & JONES ©O., OF WILMINGTON, DEL, When the handsome revenue cutters Gresham, Algonqui daga. built by the Globe Iron Works Co. of Cevclantll er unin ee recent war transferred to the Atlantic coast for service in the auxiliary navy, representation of the revenue cutter service on the lakes was reduced to the Fessenden, a vessel inadequate in many respects. To rem- edy this and with a view also to providing a suitable vessel for St. Mary's river patrol service, the treasury department finally transferred to the lakes, a few weeks since, the revenue cutter Morrill, a vessel which has heretofore been on duty on the Atlantic coast and which saw some war service as a member of the auxiliary fleet. Through the courtesy of the British government the vessel was allowed to pass the St. Lawrence eras with her armament. he Lot M. Morrill is an iron hull vessel and was built b & Jones Co. of Wilmington, Del., in 1889. She is 145 feet sacs all, 133 feet 6 inches between rabbets at load line, 24 feet beam molded, 12 feet 3 inches depth of hold, and 8 feet 6 inches draught. Propelling power is furnished by a fore-and-aft, vertical, compound, surface condensing engine, with cranks set at right angles and cylinders of 24 and 38 inches by 30 inches stroke. The boiler is of the cylindrical, return-tubular type, II DECREASE OF CANADIAN MERCHANT MARINE. _ That there is no diminution in the percentage of decr dian merchant marine is dlesntonstnclietintis a supaicanane ene poe of the department of marine and fisheries, which has just been issued. his report shows that the total number of vessels listed with the depart- ment on Jan. 1, 1898, including old and new vessels, sailing vessels, steam ers and barges, was 6,684, measuring 731,754 tons register, being a decrease of 595 vessels and a decrease of 57,554 tons register as compared with Jan 1, 1897. The number of steamers was 1,785, valued at $21,952,620. The num- ber of new vessels built was 231, valued at $769,230. For the port of Mon- treal there is shown a total of 532 vessels, including sailing ships and steamers. Of these 178 are steamers. For Quebec there is shown a register of 882 vessels, of which 120 are steamers. Among the other ports of Canada St. John, N. B., shows a register of 406 vessels, Halifax 472, Ottawa 324 Toronto 226, Victoria, B. C., 213. LOSSES ON LAKE VESSELS SENT TO THE COAST. __ Insurance losses on the lake vessels sent to the Atlantic coast recently will aggregate about $92,000. Insurance on the steamer Lloyd S. Porter sunk in the St. Lawrence river and upon which the wreckers are now at work, is $42,000; on the schooner H. D. Alverson, $15,000; schooner John O'Neill, $8,000; schooner Porter, $15,000, and schooner H. H. Brown $12,000. The steamer Porter was owned by the Jenks Ship Building Co. of Port Huron, Mich.; the schooner Porter by Detroit parties; the U.S. REVENUE CUTTER MORRILL, BUILT BY THE PUSEY & JONES CO., WILMINGTON, DEL. with circular furnaces, and is 13 feet long and 11 feet 6 inches outer diam- eter of the inner course. The boiler is supplied with 164 tubes of 3% inches diameter. Capt. A. B. Davis, formerly of the Fessenden and known throughout the lakes as one of the most efficient officers in the service, is in command of the Morrill. : The Pusey & Jones Co., builders of the Morrill, have just contracted to build for the Port Richmond & Bergen Point Ferry Co. of New York a steel hull side-wheel ferryboat, 140 feet over all, 52 feet beam over guards, 30 feet beam, molded, and 9 feet 11 inckes depth. Power will be furnished by an American jet-condensing beam engine, with cylinder of 30 inches diameter and 9 feet stroke. Steam will be supplied from a return-tubulat steel boiler. The vessel will be lighted by electricity. TO HELP LAKE SHIP BUILDING. An impression is gaining credence that the improvement of the St. Lawrence canals is bound to have a helpful influence on ship building on the great lakes. This expectation is founded on the claim on the part of lake ship builders that they are in position to build certain classes of steel vessels cheaper than they can be turned out at the coast yards. This premise is based solely on mercantile tonnage, and_ should the Anglo-American commission reach an agreement which will permit the construction of war vessels on the great lakes the prospects will be even brighter. The lake builders claim that even should a depth of 14 feet be unavailable next year throughout entire distance from the Welland to the coast, on account of delay in completing the improvements, the canal will at least be far enough advanced to send to the coast, without cargoes, vessels like the Minneapolis and St. Paul and the steamer now building by the Craig Ship Building Co. of Toledo. Vessels of this kind would be especially suited to Atlantic coast trade. General Manager Besse of the Atlantic Transportation Co. of New York, when he visited the great lakes last autumn to charter boats for coast service, stated that he had upon investigation found that wooden vessels can be built cheaper at lake yards than on the Atlantic coast. If this is true, some wooden ves- sels may also be built on the lakes for the Atlantic, but it will probably be found that in the coast trade, as in most other lines, wooden ships are a thing of the past. schooner Alverson by J. C. Gilchrist of Cleveland; the schooner John O'Neill by C. R. Jones of Cleveland, and the schooner H. H. Brown by the Vulcan Transportation Co. of Detroit. The Brown was abandoned off Booth Bay, Me., in a sinking condition. The loss of these vessels has occasioned not a little comment in view of the fact that many of them, after they were chartered to the Atlantic Transportation Co., were sent down to the coast with only sticks for masts and without rigging or canvas. It is claimed that they could, in all probability, have weathered the storm had they been provided with sails, which would enable them to care for themselves after being cast adrift. The practice of stripping every bit of rigging and canvas from old vessels when they are put into tows in order to reduce expense accounts and secure a little increase in carrying capacity, is bad enough on the lakes, but here there is usually only one barge behind a steamer, as against three in some of the tows bound for Newport News, and the weather ot the Atlantic is, of course, more severe. FLEET OF THE P. & O. CO.--LARGEST IN THE WORLD. The annual report of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., the greatest shipping concern in the world, which was presented at a meet- -ing of the stockholders held recently in London, is a most interesting document. The company's net surplus for the year admits of the pay- ment of 714 per cent on the paid up capital of $11,600,000. The P. & O. fleet now consists of fifty-six steamers of an aggregate of 276,103 tons and 286,050 horse power; four steamers building aggregating 28,480 tons and 97,500 horse power, and twenty-nine tenders and tugs aggregating 3,160 tons and 835 horse power. The grand total is thus 307,743 tons. The steam- ers building are the Assaye and Sobraon, each of 7,240 tons and 6,500 horse power, the Persia of 8,000 tons and 11,000 horse power, and the Banca of 6,000 tons and 3,500 horse power. ' German ship builders and naval authorities seem to have given heed to some of the lessons of the naval engagement at Santiago. In order to obviate the danger of fire, owing to the use of wood fittings, orders have been given that all decks and staircases of the new battleship Kaiser Friedrich III shall be entirely of steel.