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

wWwses#R.R ee | oe OU tons.on 1902, and of 70,000 tons on 1901. The total: decline on 1901, in which year. ship building, both for home, the colonies, and other countries, reached 983,133 tons, has been to the extent of 200,000 tons, but 1903 was a bad year for trade all round and ship building suffered in consequence. The new arrangement between the Allan Line and the Grand Trunk Pacific railway, with reference to a transpacific service is on the same lines as that existing between the same com- panies for the transatlantic service, and will be worked by a special fleet of cargo and passenger steamers taking the whole of the westward traffic of the Grand' Trunk company. It is estimated by the managers of the Allan- Line that abundant freights will be offering from. Canada.to China and Japan to, keep the line going. Mr. Norman Hill, secretary of the Liverpool' Steamship Owners' Association, has prepared an interesting comparison as to the number of steerage passengers which might be car- ried by one and the same vessel; in the North Atlantic pas- senger service, according as she.sailed under different flags. If flying the British flag, the total would be 930, under the Bel- gian flag, 1,127, German 1,203, Dutch 1,158, and American 1127. Messrs.. R: P. Houston: & Co. (Houston Line) have, since their interest: in. the South African-trade was» established in New, York, been. represented by Mr. Daniel. Ripley, but the business of the line seems to have grown to such an extent as to warrant the firm setting up its own offices there. The following announcement has therefore been authorized to be made: Messrs. R. P. Houston: & Co., of, London: and Liver- pool. beg to announce the opening of their own. office in New York, and by mutual agreement with Mr. Daniel Ripley will take over the agency of the Houston Line to South Africa. Their offices will be in the Maritime building, No. 8 Bridge. street. The- death has this week taken place of Mr. Michael Martin, the, late general. manager of the Leyland. Line. Mr. Martin's early business life was spent with Messrs. Bibby, ship owners, from whose service he entered that of the Leyland Line in the accountant's department. In the course of time, he advanced until at the end of 1887 he was appointed to the general man- agership of the company, a position he held until the Leyland Line was merged with the American Shipping Combination. For upwards of forty, years, he was identified with the ship- ping trade of Liverpool, and at the time of his death, which took place very suddenly at his residence at Windermere, he was 68 years of age. Messrs. Elders & Fyffes, Ltd., Manchester, have just placed: orders for three new steamers for the carriage of »ananas, two with Messrs. Workman &. Clark, Belfast, and one with Messrs. Alexander Stephen & Sons, Glasgow. These steam- ers, with a measurement of 4,500 tons will each carry about 50,000 bunches of bananas in chilled air compartments. Messrs. Fleming & Ferguson, Ltd., Paisley, have launched the first of two powerful ice breaking steamers which have been on order for the government of Canada. 'The vessel which is of special design and great structural strength is for service on the St. Lawrence, and is intended to extend the period beyond: which the river has hitherto been navigable. The construction of the. vessel has. been under. the superin- tendence of Capt. M. P: McElhinney. This week, the Dufferin, the largest troopship for the Indian government, has also been launched from the yard of Messrs. Vickers, Sons and Maxim at Barrow. The Dufferin, which is 435 ft. long, is the largest troopship. afloat, and can at short notice be. converted into an armed cruiser, having eight. 4.7 guns, and eight 3-pounder quick firers. There is ac commodation for 1,250 officers and men with their wives and families. The speed of the vessel will be 18% knots. It is gratifying to learn that the prospects for the shipping season at New Orleans. now so close at hand, are looked upon RB FH VY A ff Se 21 by, those in the trade as more hopeful than last year: The winter wheat crop is said to be already harvested, whilst the cotton crop, notwithstanding adverse reports from other quar- ters, is considered as likely to be the largest on record. The tendency each year seems to be for the southern, crops to find their way in increasing quantities to, New Orleans for ship- ment to Europe. The Leyland Line's connection with New Orleans is, it is said, to be increased considerably this season. Already their trade from that port to Liverpool is a large one, as they despatch some six or seven steamers per month during the season, besides one or two per month to London and Antwerp. It is announced that two new services are to be inaugurated, one from New Orleans to Bremen, with two departures per month, and the other to Havre, with similar sailings. The monthly approximate traffic return just issued by the Manchester Ship Canal Co., show. the receipts for August to be $172,620, compared with $165,250 during August last year. The increased revenue for the eight months.of the current year amounts to $64,800. FORMING THE NEW SHIP BUILDING COMPANY. The plant of the Harlan & Hollingsworth Co., Wilming- ton, Del., is now the only one of.the former properties of the United States Ship Building Co. that remains to be sold to the reorganization committee. Mr. Charles. M. Schwab bought in the plant: of the Union Iron Works at San Fran- cisco this week for $1,700,000. The bid was tendered by Mr. Francis Pollock representing the reorganization committee of the new ship building company and was the only bid made. Mr. Schwab says that as soon as the plant of the Harlan & Hollingsworth Co. is. purchased a new $33,000,000 company will be formed, of which $3,000,000 will be bonds and the $30,000,000 will be equally divided between preferred and common stock. He says. that he will control 70 per cent of the stock of the new company, the most valuable asset, of course, of which will be the Bethlehem Steel Co.'s plant. He expects that the new company will do considerable busi- ness as he-is-looking forward to a revival of ship building in the United. States as soon as: the presidential: campaign is over. The Bertram Engine Works has just closed a contract with the Keewatin Lumbering & Manufacturing Co., Keewatin, Ont., for a tug of the following dimensions: Length over all, 95 ft.; length from stem to stern post, 86 ft.; beam, 19 ft.; depth, ro ft. 4.in.; draught, 8 ft. 6-in. She. will have a steel frame and.a steel deck with oak bottom planking, four steel bulk- heads and a steel deck house with quarters for officers. On top will be a steel Texas, a pilot house, and aft below the crew's quarters. The engine will be fore and aft compound condensing 14 and 28 by 20 in. built for a working pressure of 150-lbs. and turning. a 7-ft. cast iron propeller wheel. The boiler will be of the Scotch return tubular type 1o ft. in diameter by 12 ft. long. This tug will. be built at Toronto, taken apart for shipment and re-erected at Keewatin. The schooner Margaret Thomas was launched from the yard of Washburn Bros., Thomaston, Me., last week and was named by Miss Elizabeth Washburn. The Margaret Thomas is the twenty-fifth vessel built by Washburn Bros. at Thomas- ten-.and. is the. fifth. of the. Thomas fleet. She is 192 ft. 8 in.. keel, 40 ft. beam and. 1g ft..6 in. deep. Her frame-is of solid Virginia oak. The planking is of southern pine 4% in. thick with ceiling of similar material ro in. thick. Three full decks run the entire length of the vessel with four sets of hanging knees. The Hyde Windlass Co.'s engine and boiler were in- stalled.