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ow A mA Mm ------ a 'SCOTCH SHIPPING LETTER. 'Glasgow, Sept. 16--The warning note of coming 'labor troubles in the ship building industry is again sounded. The northeast coast section of the Amalgamated Society of En- gineers (A. S. E.) have declined to accept the notice or a, reduction of 2s per week and 5 per cent on piece rates given 'by the North East Coast Employers' Association, and have demanded its withdrawal. The recent claim of the men for an advance has not been withdrawn, and is still the subject of discussion with the employers, who, however, are by no means Jikely to. give way. The membership of the Amalgamated 'Society of Engineers is now 96,098, as compared with 95,938 last month. On donation benefit there are 5,235 members as compared with 5,210; on sick benefit 2,049 as compared with 2,096; and on superannuation 4,738 as compared with 4,735. A sixpenny levy for a legal defense fund has been carried by a large majority. The monthly report for Scotland says that things there are very unsteady. Freights are still very low _and a large amount of tonnage is being laid up, yet in face of this a number of orders for new ships were placed with Scottish builders during August. The building of turbine steamers would not, it adds, help the engineer who was out of work, but would rather tend to put a number. more on the streets. It was supposed, however, to be in the van of prog- ress, and they would require to march along with it. An interesting event in ship building is the publication of 'the annua! report of Palmer's Ship Building & Iron Co. The report, for the year ended June 30, 1904, states that the profit for this period, after providing for the cost of repairs and upkeep of plant and after making allowance for contingencies, amounts to £63,208 18s 7d, to which must be added the amount »brought forward from last year, £5,654 tos 7d, making a total of £68,862 18s 2d available for distribution. This the directors propose to appropriate as follows; debenture and loan interest £9,345 8s 2d, dividend at the rate of 5 per cent per annum on beth 'preference and ordinary shares (of which 214 per cent has been paid) £30,164 12s 6d; to write off on account of ex- tensions as depreciation £25,946 tos 4d; balance to carry for- ward £3,406 7s 2d. The depression in the ship building trade of the country has been accentuated during the past year and 'there has -been a continued fall in the prices of the com- pany's various productions. But, notwithstanding this, and the restriction of trade caused by the uncertainty of the politi- cal situation at home and the war abroad, the directors report that a profit has during the last half-year been made in every department. The output of mercantile tonnage, however, has -been comparatively small as it has been difficult'to secure orders atiremunerative prices. The iron and steel departments have also been affected by the prevailing depression, and 'by a fur- ther fall in selling prices. The output of pig iron and steel has been well maintained, and recent capital expenditure on the blast-furnaces has resulted in a marked diminution 'in the cost of production. It is anticipated that the extensive alterations now in progress at the steel works will lead to a further reduction in costs. At the annual meeting of the council. of the Federated. Asso- ciations of Shipmasters and Officers, under which title is com- prised the Scottish Shipmasters' Association, Glasgow, the Mercantile Marine Service Association, the British Shipmas- ters' and Officers' Protection Society, Sunderland, represent- ing the interests of over 9,000 British ship masters and offi- cers, a large number of subjects in which the members of the federated associations are interested were brought up for consideration and discussion. Among these were the aliens bill, deck load-line bill, compensation to seamen, voting by proxy at parliamentary elections in the case of masters and officers, etc. The necessity for an amendment to section 186 of the merchant shipping act, in the direction of bringing ship- masters within the scope of that section so that they would be entitled to the same privileges as the other members of the bo £ N SAC crew, was recognized and the secretary was instructed to com- 'municate with the Board of Trade with a view to getting the act amended. The council were of opinion that 'the present rate of wages paid to shipmasters and officers was inade- quate, but taking into consideration the present unremunera- tive rate of freights, the unsatisfactory state of trade, and consequent amount of disengaged tonnage, they were of opin- ion that the moment was not opportune to urge 'this matter on ship owners, and that it would be wise policy to defer approaching them till there was a reasonable expectation of the request being acceded to. The matter was left m the secre- tary's 'hands, to approach the owners when the state of trade warranted an increase in the wages paid to the deck officers. Another matter which engaged, the attention of the council was the scarcity of junior officers. There are more applications in Liverpool for junior officers than can 'be 'met, and the Scottish Shipmasters' Association find the same diffi- culty existing in Glasgow. It -was predicted that the junior officer question would force itself acutély on the attention of ship owners, and the state of things was ascribed principally to the inadequate rate of wages paid to deck officers. The same difficulty, it was stated by the chairman of the meeting, obtained on the east coast. Medical certificates were also dealt with, and it was suggested that facilities be afforded maviers and officers for obtaining some knowledge of medical science and surgery. Capt. Black stated that in Glasgow these officers were absolutely without any means of obtaining the slightest knowledge of the healing art, and suggested that classes should be established to which masters and officers could apply themselves to obtain some knowledge of medicine and surgery. Possibly the best way would be to establish technical schools for masters and officers, wherein these sub- jects could be taught. Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., have launched the steel screw steamer, Justin, built for The Booth Steamship Co., Ltd., for their Liverpool, New York and Brazilian trade. Her dimen- sions are: Length 365 ft, breadth 48 ft. 9 in., depth 26 ft. 6 in. to upper deck, and she is constructed to Lloyd's and Board of Trade highest class. Her gross tonnage is 3,500 tons, with a total carrying capacity in holds and bunkers of about 11,200 'tons measurement. The vessel is rigged as a two- masted fore and aft schooner, and has a complete shelter deck. Accommodation is provided for about twenty first-class pas- sengers. The facilities for loading and discharging are very complete, five cargo hatches of ample size being fitted, with twelve derricks and nine powerful steam winches of the builders' own make. An extra heavy derrick is also pro- vided, capable of lifting 30 tons. Machinery, consisting of 'triple-expansion 'engines, has been constructed by the builders. The Justin is a sister vessel of the Boniface launched about six weeks ago. The Standard Oil Co. of America do not admire the Shell Transport and Trading Co. of Great Britain, who are their great competitors as ocean oil-distributers. The annual report of the Shell Transport & Trading Co. states that the directors had hoped to place before the shareholders the adjustment of the accounts as compared with the estimated figures for the year 1902, but in view of the auditors requiring to 'have be- fore them 'the accounts for the year ended Dec. 31, 1903, before they certify final figures, it is not yet possible to do so. They are, however, able to state that apparently the ad- justment entails the alteration of the profits for the year from £219,507 to £208,270. Shareholders will be asked to pass a resolution adjourning the meeting in order that the profit and loss account and balance-sheet may be made up as soon as the accounts are received from the Asiatic Petroleum Co. for the first and second halves of the year 1903, the accounts of the company depending on them. Important developments have taken place in the position of the company, in so far as their participation in the European business is concerned. The cost