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538 ensue and. retaliatory methods will be _mecessary. It is believed in England _ than the conference lines would meet any freight cuts made by the shipping board. ewe OS THROUGH a joint arrangemeft be- = tween the South Eastern & Chatham railway and the Nord railway of France, vegular train-ferry services will soon be established across the English chan- nel for the first time in history so far as commercial activities are concerned, the only previous train-ferry service feing that operated by the British army during the war. For the time being, the traffic will be confined to freight trains, the arrangements having been made especially to facilitate the transfer of French fruits, vegetables and fiowers direct to London. eee HIE annual meeting of the North East Coast Institute of Engineering -and Shipbuilding was held at New- castle-on-Tyne Oct. 14. A feature of the proceedings was the presidential address by Sir William Joseph Noble. Commenting on the fact that before the war Great Britain owned 44% per cent of the world's tonnage, Sir William said that during the conflict British ton- nage decreased by 13% per cent and that the reduction in the efficiency of the British mercantile marine was a great deal more. Although tthe United Kingdom steam tonnage is now over 19,250,000 tons gross, or more than in 1914, it is not as efficient as it was before the war, and instead of Great Britain owning 4414 per cent of the world's total steam tonnage, its share today is only 35 per cent. eae OR N OCT. 19, Messrs. Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Ltd., Walls- end, England, launched the KutTsaANc, a single screw ship to carry passengers and. general cargo and'to run in the service of the Indo-China Steam Navi- gation Co., Hong Kong and London. The Kursanc has an overall length of 434 feet, molded breadth of 54 feet 'depth of 31 feet and will carry. 7000 tons deadweight on a draft of 25% feet. She has a poop, a long bridge amid- ships, and a full topgallant forecastle. On the boat deck are comfortable quar- ters for the captain, a smoke room, and a ladies' room. On the bridge deck, on either side of the engine casing, are cabins for the officers and engi- neers, and forward of the funnel are staterooms for first class passengers and the dining saloon. In the poop is accommodation for 'the second class Passengers and above the stearing-gear house is a hospital and dispensary. The MARINE REVIEW sailors and firemen have their quar- ters in the forecastle, the petty offi- cers and apprentice boys being housed on the upper deck on either side of the mail and baggage neath the first class dining saloon. Re- frigerating machinery will be installed to keep meat and other perishable pro- visions in good condition. In most of the cellular double bottom of the ship, oil fuel can be carried as well as water ballast. and boilers of the Kursanc have been built by the Wallsend Slipway & En gineering Co. The main engines are of the 4-cylinder quadruple expansion type. Four single-ended, cylindrical boil- ers are designed for a working pres- sure' of 220 pounds per square inch under forced draft. : Scheer RITISH liner companies have re- duced freights on general cargo from the United Kingdom to South America and the Far East; the reduction to South America ranging from 5 to 12 shilling ($0.92 to $222) and the re- ductions to the Far East, which apply from Great Britain and the continent to China, Japan and the Straits Set- tlements, ranging from 5 shillings to 17s 6d ($0.92 to $3.24) per ton. Freight rates on general cargo to the Far East, therefore, now range from 57s 6d to 75 shillings ($10.65 to $13.85) per ton, according to the class of articles carried and the port of destination. This is the second reduction which thas been made in two months on rates to the Far East, the previous reduction ranging from 7s 6d to 10 shillings ($1.39 to $1.85) per ton. The recent lower- ing of rates applies to the rougher classifications of goods rated according to weight including especially iron. and steel products. Expect Early Delivery of Big Liner Homeric The German builders of the 35,000-ton liner Homeric, ex-CoLumBus, are about ready to make delivery at Danzig and she may be expected to sail for South- ampton shortly. The Germans will de- liver the ship completed in accordance with her original plans, as. provided in the peace treaty, but some time will be necessary after ther arrival in Eng- land to fit her out as a White Star liner. Her first sailing from Southamp- ton has been tentatively set for Feb. 22. The Homeric is. exceeded in size by -- only five ships, the Majestic, 56,009 tons, LeviaTHAN, 54,000, BERENGARIA, 51,000, Orympic 46,439 and AQUITANIA, 45,647. The Homeric js approximately 1000 tons Jarger than the new French liner Parts, and 3000 tons larger than compartments ' be- | The machinery ' ships. December, 1921 the MaureETANIA, which once held the palm for size among the world's great liners. The Homeric is 775 feet long and €3 feet wide. She thas twin driven by triple expansion engines of 30,000 horsepower, and is expected to make an average speed of 20 knots. Her passenger capacity is 529 first cabin, 487 second, and 1750 third. Her. crew numbers 774. She has 40 large state- rooms on the promenade deck, and several suites, including one containing drawing room, breakfast room ard two bedrooms, each with bath. While the ship has all the luxurious equipment now found on the largest linérs, such as palm garden and glass enclosed promenade decks, she also has numerous novelties not found on most ° These include a bathroom in which electric light rays take the place of water; a playroom for children fitted with doll houses, hobby horses and many other delights; a tyyewriting room, fitted with machines for passengers' use; a shop where travelers' articles and varied novelties will be sold; a covered space for deck games in al! weathers, such as tennis, shuffleboard and quoits; open fires in reading, writing, music and smoking rooms; electric heaters in state- reoms; electrically operated elevators for passengers, and a special one for bag- gage; a very complete telephone sys- tem, with "central," a photographic dark recom, and a novel ventilating system by which ozonized air can be pumped into the various rooms. For and safety at sea the Homeric is equipped with all approved modern devices, including bilge keels to prevent rolling; an elaborate vention system, including | decks and partitions, and a fire-alarm equipment; powerful electric sirens, one being fitted on the fore- castle 'head, to give warnings in fog; electric deep-sea sounding apparatus; sub- marine bell fog signal system; a gyro- scopic nonmagnetic compass; system for Morse signaling, and a complete outfit of watertight bulkheads and doors. Screws, comfort fire-pre- fireproof complete Open New Fruit Service The Atlantic Fruit Co. 17 Battery place, New York, has opened Up.8 weekly service between New York and Porto Rico with tthe specially built fruit steamers SAcua, TANAMO and CAN- ANovA. According to James A. Mc- Naught, general freight and passenger agent, the new service follows a re- quest from Porto Rican fruit growers who feel that the carriage of their prod- ucts in specially built and adapted fruit steamers will add to the popularity in American markets of Porto Rican prod- uce, aie aoe ae