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1903 MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. 19 although practically none of this increase has gone to the hulls. The hardening of armor has enabled the depth of belt to be in- creased from about 16 ft. to 22 ft., without forfeiting any of its resisting power per unit of area. The armor is continued to 5 ft. below the normal water line to provide against the probability of the lower part being exposed by the ship rolling. Cost has gone up because of better armor, more powerful guns and higher speed, the rate ten years ago having been £15 per ton less than now. The King Edward is estimated to cost £1,426,266. Her heaviest gun of 50 tons weight will develop a power of 40,000 ft. tons, as compared with 35,000 ft. tons of the 69-ton gun of ten years ago; and she carries four 9.2-in. guns in excess of the arma- ment of existing battleships. SHIP SUBSIDY FACTS FOR THE PLAIN DEALER. In its issue of Aug. 7 the Cleveland Plain Dealer discusses the subject of the new Cunard steamship contract with the British government. The Plain Dealer exhibits a feeling of sensitiveness regarding some criticism made of its former discussion of the subject of British abandonment of subsidies, and now seeks to justify its former assertions, having before it the full terms of the contract between the British government and the Cunard company, and it says: "It turns out, as was expected, to have small resemblance to the subsidy schemes proposed in the several bills that gasped their way through successive congresses and were left dead on the table or in the committee room at the end of each congress. 'The ar- rangement (between the Cunard company and the British govern- ment) is not a bounty or a subsidy but a definite payment for a definite service and with conditions not even hinted at in either of the American subsidy schemes." The Plain Dealer proceeds to recite the terms of the con- tract between the Cunard people and the British government, as follows: 1. For carrying the mails an annual payment of $340,- 000 is to be made for twenty years. 2. A loan of $13,000,000 by the British government to the Cunard Line, to enable the latter to | build. two steamships in order to provide a weekly mail service, these vessels to be so built as to be useful as cruisers in time of war. 3. An annual subsidy of $750,000 for twenty years, as the Plain Dealer explains, because of the exceptional size, speed and _ auxiliary naval uses to which the ships can be put. The Plain Dealer recites a number of minor conditions imposed by the gov- ernment upon the Cunard company, in which the latter is obliged to. retain its ships as British, to keep them at the disposal of the British admiralty, the masters, officers and engineers all to be Britons, three-fourths of the crew to be British subjects,, and at least one-half of them to be members of the British Royal Naval Reserve. : : For the information of the Plain Dealer, we deem it pertinent to present some of the chief provisions of the last-pending ship subsidy bill. It provided, according to its title, "for ocean mail service between the United States and foreign ports, and the: common. defense; to promote commerce, and to encourage the deep-sea fisheries." Under that title every condition imposed by the British government upon the Cunard company in its recently- -- made agreement is imposed by the United States government upon the ships that would receive the subsidies therein provided. With- out additional compensation than provided for, the ships receiving the subsidies are to carry the mails, and those of a certain size and speed are to be so built as to be useful as: cruisers in time of war. To be sure it was not provided in the American subsidy bill that the United States should lend enough money to any one single company to enable it to build its ships, as in the Cunard- British agreement the former company receives $13,000,000. -- American ship owners were required to find their own money, . as best they could. Nor were two steamshins to receive any such munificent subsidy as 'the two ships of the Cunard Line receive, namely, a total of $1,090,000 a year. But at least one-half of the crews of the American vessels. were to .be American citizens, and, under existing laws, all officers of American vessels must be American citizens. The American ship subsidy bill provided that none of the vessels enjoying the subsidv should be sold to foreigners without the consent of the government. In short, it would seem that the American 'ship subsidy bill was constantly under the eyes of the British government in the framing of its agreement with the Cunard Line. We admit that the British government has singled out one particular line in the case under discussion for the granting of its subsidy, but apart from the agreement with the Cunard Line the British government is now paying subsidies aggregating over $3,- 500,000 to other British steamship lines. The British government subsidizes British merchant shipmasters, officers and seamen, as members of her "Royal Naval Reserve" to the tune of over $1,- 400,000 a year, but the United States pays for a similar naval re- course not one dollar. The 1902 report of the United States com- missioner of navigation, page 358, summarizes the payments made by Great Britain for "foreign and colonial packet service of Great Britain" as follows: Payment during year 1901-2 ....+-2sessree eee e erences $3,772,847 Amount received by contribution ......-++s.++..0es.-- 861,658 Amount received by sea postage for mails dispatched by colonies and foreign countries .......+++.++.-+ gia 451,168 Cost borne in respect of mails dispatched from United Kingdom: -oi5 i093 522 es ce ee See to 2,460,021 From the above the Plain Dealer will see how much of the __ment of subsidies, a way is generally found to pay them; and ond, it would be impossible to discover. i ler. subsidy was contributed by the actual receipts from sea postage-- how much money was paid by the senders of mail and how much by government contribution. Another thing that the Plain Dealer should know is this: In making contracts for the carriage of the mails the British govern- ment pays a far larger sum to British steamships than it could se- cure the service for from foreign steamships. That fact has been proven many times. Postal subsidies are paid, not alone for mail carriage, but in a number of cases for commercial advantages, and these subsidies are always higher than the rates paid by the Brit- ish government to foreign steamships carrying British mails, the latter being at the rate fixed by the Postal Union, and known as the Postal Union rate. For the further information of the Plain Dealer, we append the following questions and'answers appearing. in the British parliamentary report of the select committee on steamship subsidies, pages 14 and 15, Sir Alfred Bateman, head of the statistical department of the Board of Trade, being the person who answered the questions: Q. Can you make it clear for the general purposes of the inquiry, how far British subsidies are strictly for value received? A. In deference to the committee, I would. rather wish them to ask the different departments who give them. Subsidies are given by the post office, by the ad- miralty, and by the colonial office, as regards the Elder, Dempster Line. Q. Do you consider that-that is a variation from the . system hitherto pursued with regard to British steamship companies as to the carrying of mails? A. I understand it - has not much to do with the carrying of mails; it has more -- to do with the carrying of bananas. : Q.. But it is a special case, is it not? A. Yes, it is a special case, as I understand. . And as regards that I believe Jamaica pays half -- of the subsidy, does it not? A. In the case of the line be- | tween Jamaica and the United Kingdom the contractors un- dertook to maintain a service of fruit, passenger, and mail- carrying steamers, sailing under a time table approved by the colonial government. Passengers are to be carried at -- fixed rates, specified in the contract, and the contractors are to purchase at the current market rates of the day not less -- than 20,000 bunches of bananas for each voyage from Ja-- maica to the English port, and convey all bananas so pur- chased to the English port. The contractors are also to ship at specified rates all fruit and other goods offered to them, subject to the shipment of the bananas referred to above. The mails are to be carried free of charge. ncn Se The Plain Dealer will note, in the foregoing, two distinct points: First, that the British government, as in the case of the Elder, Dempster Line and the Cunard Line, is always ready with special provisions to cover special cases, but if the advance- ment of British commercial interests can be had through the pay- ish government received value for subsidies pai line for carrying battanas to-En@land.-*.5 7 oss ee as Subsidies are paid in order to induce people to establis steamship lines, and there is an abundance of evidence to prove -- that in many cases the subsidies pay the larger part if not the whole of the dividends to these lines. This should prove that the lines could not be run without the subsidies, and it should further prove that the subsidies prevent competition, at least on the part of unsubsidized lines; that is to say, when Great Britain pays sub- sidies to her steamship lines, she not only promotes British com- merce, but she makes it all the more difficult if not impossible for -- unsubsidized foreign lines to compete with the British steamship -- lines. If this is not the very essence of government protection, -- we should like to have the Plain Dealer tell us what is. Mr. Andrew Carnegie lately pointed out in London that a fair share of Canadian imports and exports pass in bond through the United States and that should Great Britain exercise a pref- erential duty in favor of Canada it would be a simple contrivance for the United States to prevent Canadian exports and imports through United States territory. This theme has been now. thoroughly threshed out in Britain, as is everything that Mr. Carnegie says, and the conclusion is reached that vigorous op- position would be made by the railways to the cancellation of that privilege.' These imports and exports supply an immense amount:of traffic to American railways and their loss would be seriously felt. Moreover they could be shipped from Halifax or. St. John, which are all-year ports--not so conveniently, nor so cheaply perhaps, but they could be shipped. Preferential duties, however, have done very little to stimulate Canadian trade with. Great Britain. Proximity will always make the United States Canada's greatest customer. The Canadian Pacific liner Empress of India and the Chi- nese cruiser Huang-Tai collided near Hong Kong this week and the cruiser was sunk, the captain and thirteen of the crew being drowned. The balance of the crew, numbering 170, were saved - by the Empress, From Canadian Pacific sources it is learned that the two vessels were running parallel courses when the cruiser suddenly tried to cross the Empress's bows. 'The liner~ maneuvered to lessen the unavoidable impact, but such serious damiage was inflicted that the cruiser sank within an hour, The. cruiser was 260 ft. long, 36 ft. beam and drew 20 ft. of water. She was built at Elswick in 1888. The Empress of India was built at Barrow in 1890 and is 440 ft. long.