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THE LUMBER TRADE. THE, Referring to tho lumber trado, tho Chica¬ go Tribune ioyt:' slip to tlio prosont .time there lias not Geon any notlcoabla activity "among, tho ' lumbermen ' regarding lake ■ 'freights, nnd it Is scarcely probable that any thing definite will bo settled, beforo the (list ol noxt month. Thus.far the lew vonsols that have, boon chartered In 'the lumber trnde were secured nt tho pjcviiulng rnte of last season, although the'vesselmen are con ' udciit that ns soon ns the 'timber trado Is fairly opened rates will bo Bomovyhiit better than thoy wero last year. Tho timber har¬ vest during tho winter has been one of tlio largoBt for rnany yours, nnd thcro, will itn. - doubtodly-fao a heavy demand for vessels, al¬ though at present Jho Chicago dealers- say that they are well stocked with most grades nud will only need but lew Bortsv fpr some tlmo tccomo. Tho lumber trado,'however, ' Is growing more brisk ovory day, and tlio recent 'reductions mndii by the railroads nu lumbar freights .to Missouri river points, will make the trado still livelier, as, Chicago merchants nro now better able to compete with tho river trado. Tho Wisconsin timber* out, aB reported from tho best authorities- will tint vary much from tho "following uib- ulatcd statement: Wisconsin river......:......................:B2,iKX),noo Block rlvor .........'.......................:.,21ti,S«i,«10 Chippewa anil Flambeau........................ «>a,()00,(KK) St Croli rlvor..................................... iatl.O0O.0UXl Mcnouilnoo-rlvor.............................40(),tiOi,oilO Woll river ............................................. 20,1100,1101) Vlclnty ot Colby................. ............•S!im)*M Loko Superior region ...»...............OO.OOO.OOO Scattered camps..............................ltKl,txxl,(KXI Total......................................................1,685,-100,000 CUNARD, STEAMSHIP t'ANY. COM- THE GREAT SHIP CANAL. When Napoleon sent his engineers to take the levels across theisthmus ot Suez in ordsr to determlno the practicability of digging a canal through the Band for commercial pur¬ poses, tncy made°out that the surface of the Gull of Suez wn« thirty feot higher than the Mediterranean, and so the project, was for tho time given up. The blunder in tlio sur¬ vey was not discovered until'1810, when a new scheme began to bo agitated for cutting n ship channel that would shorten the voy- ngo from Europe to India and tM cast by almost, the entke distance around the conti¬ nent of Africa. .In 1854 M. DoLesseps formed a canal company nnd obtained a grant from the viceroy of Egypt for nlnoty-nlno ' yours. The scheme was looked upon with suspicion by British engineers nnd British capitalists-, and the Inception and n/osociitloti of the enterprise wero largely duo to tho French, In 1859 the work wns begun, and ten years Inter tho Red Sea and tho Mediterranean met in the Bitter Lakes. The total length of the canal. Is not far from 100 miles about soventy-flvo miles of tho course bohi* formed „„, „.....„.._.. „......... byexoavatlon and twenty-'flvo uiileV lying. Jier go, and tire schooner Wji& then proceed- through the shallow lakes of the isthmni; pig tainake sail, and whilo doing so, the Tho announcement In made that Messrs. Charles'nnd Henry, Mnclvor'lmve retired from tlio management of the Canard Steam¬ ship Company, which some three years'ago wns formed, into a limited coippuny. .Im¬ portant divergences of opinion, liav'o oxisted ever slneo tho now departure* between tho general bodyotdhectors and tho -Messrs. Maolvor.' The board of directors have pur- suod the policy of building stoamcrs of an enormous size at a proportionately' heavy cost both of construction and midntalnance whereas the Messrs, MaClucr state that their own experience Is strongly In the direction that such steamers are to large and costly to bo Worked1 at n profit." The director's re¬ port on the operations of the past year states that Die profit-amount to 210,7441; hut after various deductions for depreciation, In¬ surance, dtc, ami 10,000( to the reserve fund, the available balance is 07,OOU lis lOd, out of which tho directors propose a dividend of •U per cent, on the capital of 1,000,0001, leav¬ ing a balance of 3,0(111 lis lOd to be carrled_ forward. The directors report that, not- withstaiiding'tlie adverse conditions of the trade which prevailed throughout the earlier months of 1882, the revenue shows a con¬ siderable advance on that of 1881. Tile re¬ port then says;—"Arrangements have been made for the determination ol all managing agencies of^he company as front the 31 ol March, by which a substniitilo saving will be effected. As part of these arrangements, the agreement with tho vendors to tho com¬ pany has been modllled so as to permit the Messrs. Maelver to dispose of a largo portion of the shares which they had engaged to hold for llvoycars from the 81 March, 1880. These shares have been takeif over by directors of the company. MARINE LAW. C COLLISION—PnOFELLUH JKMTKHIKO IIAltUOlt. Circiu'f Court. N. D. Illinois. 'Jan. '1S8S. Where a propeller was ontorlng a harbor on a dark night lit a rate of speed, she was held liable for a collision with a schooner leaving such harbor, notwithstanding the evidence was coufllctUig as io the position of the lights of the schooner, or the period at vvhlch it torch—light had been flashed on the schooner, and although the prupellei may have had a proper lookout. Drtlintnond, J. This Is a HUel tiled by the owner of the schooner Helon Blood to re¬ cover damages caused by a collision of the' propeller Badger Stale with the schooner on t|)o evening of October 0, 1877. A tug took the schooner in tow on that evening to start out on her voyage from Chicago to Muskegotij Michigan, which, after towing her out a short distance from tho harbor, let which, In many places, require deepening. ^The ordinary width of the canal Is 325 feet atsurfaco and seventy-two leet at the bottom, the depth ol the water being twenty-six, feet. There are no locks throughout its course, and Its termini are Suez, at ■ the tntrance to the Gulf ol Suez on the south from which' point there aro railroads to Cailo and Alexandria and n Afresh wate1' canal" to tho Nile, aijd Port Said at tlio margin of the Mediterranean on the north. The building of an nrilllelal harbor at each terminus, with Die necessary protections, was'reckoned tt greater undertaking than the excavation of the canal Itself. The work was tormally .opened on the 17 of November, 1800, rjnd on the 25 It aiis publicly announced that Lord Deacon Held had purchased from Ismail Pasha, who had become viceroy of Egypt under the title of Khedive, 170,002 out ol tho 400,000 shares of £20 each. Tho sum paid was £1,080,000 and the commissions to the Rothschilds and other expenses of the transaction amounted to about £100,000 more.'"By the tonus pf transfer the govornmoiit roeclvod Interest at live per cent on shares till the year 1804, after ■ which It Is to receive the full dividends. There tire three members of the board of di- , rectors representing the Interest of the British government, one of whom is a resi¬ dent director in Paris, whore he lias hitherto acted in perfeot accord with tho French majority In tho directory. . The Foro is to be decked ovor nnd convert¬ ed into u barge at once. hour being about 0 o'clock, the propeller was observed some distance oil', making lor for the harbor of ^hlcago. There is some dillerence of opinion among the witnessess as to the precise course ol the vessels, but It seems sitllleent to say that the course of the schooner was about X. hy,\V„ and that ol thu propeller about S. 1-2 E. Tliu wind was not far from S. W. The collision tuok place only a short distance liom the harbor, pro¬ bably less than a mile Irom the pier. The propeller struck the schooner a glancing blow on the starboard side. The night was not very dark, and a light properly displayed on a vessel could be seen at a distance ol several tulles Tlunmle-oWaw In a ease like tills Is well Bottled. It was the duty of tho propeller to avoid the schooner, and not having done so, and the collision having takiti place, It Is Incumbent on tho propeller to establish by competent evidence that the collision was caused, in whole or In part, by some fault on tin) part of iho schooner.-"• It Is claimed by tho defendant that the stihooner was In fault in three particulars; that the schooner did not, just belure the time of the collision, show a starboard or green light, as law requires; that alio had no sufficient lookout; and thiit she was not properly navigated at tho time. Tho princi¬ pal difficulty grows out of the llrst defense alleged. Wits tho collision caused In con¬ sequence of u green light not having been displayed bv the schooner at n propek time and In a proper place ? The.law of congress required that there' should be "on tho star¬ board side, agre'en light of sucli olrhrnctor as to bo vlmtblo on a dark night, with a clear atmosphere, nt a distance of at least two miles, and so constructed ns to show n unl- lorm nnd unbroken, light over an nro of the horizon of 10 points of the compass, nnd so fixed as to throw tho light from right ahead to two points abaft tho beam on the.star- b'oard sldo." There" seems to be no' doubt but that tho lights required ) by tho statute were plnccd upon tho .schooner before slid was Voloascd by the tug. There is the con¬ current testimony of Boveralof the witnesses that the lights were proporly placed prldr to that time. Tho doubt about the green .light arises from the testimony of one or two of the wltnosses on the part of the defense, and from the fact, as alleged by some.of the defendant's witnesses, that the green light was not seen until Immediately before the collision by those who wen; on the lookout on board the propeller. A witness who was on the tug testifies that just as they started out with tho tow, and a man was about lo put up tho lights, he asked him not to put up tho gtceiMlght in Its place until they got oiltsldo, because' it would glare In his fi'tco, ani he says that it was then put on the top or forward hatch, and was not put up on the vessel beluro he let go of her; and In this he is corrobrated by the engineer of tlio tug. Some of the witnesses on the propeller, and who were on the lookout, state that if the green light had bociy in Its proper place in the rigging It could have been seen from the, propeller for a considerable time beforcthe collision, and in season to have avoided It. These statements of tho witnesses on the tug nro distinctly contradicted by several, wit-, nosscs'on the schooner, who state that the lights, Including the green light, wero both In their proper places in tlio rigging, whore they were distinctly visible;-and the state¬ ment made by these witnesses on board of the tug that tlio green light was put upon the deck and turnenS away from the tug, does not seem to be very consistent with that made by several ol the witnesses on the propeller, that they saw tho green light;' ono of whom, especially, asserts that It wna in the rigging, because If it had been turned away on the deck,-as mentioned by the wit¬ nesses on board of the tug, It could hardly have been visible in the manner stated by witnesses oil board of the propeller. If the green light was on the deck, and It was put in the ringing.after that It must, have been some person on board of the schooner; and wo have no testimony from any ono on board ol tho schooner indicating a cliungo of the position of the lights from the tlmo they were first taken and put in place. It Is distinctly stated by several witnesses that .after the schooner returned to the hartjor In consequence of the injury, the lights includ- the green light; wore suspended In tho rig¬ ging. It is claimed on the part of the- de- tense that those on board of the propeller consuming the lookout, among whom was the captain, must hm e necessarily seen the green light If It had been In its proper place, 'fjuit would seem to be so, provided they did keep a proper lookout. It seems rather slngulai that the eaptnlu should llrst see a dark ob|ect, the vessel itsell, and not the lights of the vessel 01 olllier of thoin. There ale others on hoard of this propeller who suite that they did see the lights, Including the green light; hut, as tuts already been stated, not long before the collision., it may have been In consequence ol tho fact of mak¬ ing sail, or iho course of tho two vessels In tints approaching each other, that the, light was obsenred for a time. It seems, however, very clear that there were not on board of the propeller sufficient precautions taken to avoid the collision. In the llrst place, the propollor was running too* fast; she had not slackened her speed In approaching the har¬ bor, which was nine miles an hour. Being so near the harbor after dark, sho should have slackened her speed and kept a speci¬ ally vigilant lookout for approaching vessels. This appears not to havo been dune. In the conflict of evidence as to the condition of the groan light a short time before the collision, the statements made by the captain on the following day are not without a certain significance. It is true, lie denies those statements, and a witness or two present say thoy were not heard; but another wit¬ ness present, entirely disinterested, says that the statements were made, namely, that the lights of the schooner were seen, nnd~no satisfactory explanation was then given why tho soliooncr wns not avoided by tho propeller. . . • * Admitting thnt this pnrt of tho case Is net free from .difficulty, still I.um 'inclined to think tho weight! of the evldouee Is thnt too"' grcon ight of the schooner wns In Its: prpper place'nnd could have been seen, and tho schooner avoided by the propoller, If proper- caroiradjieen taken. In nay cvont, I think It cannot be assorted, wltn any degree ofton- thal the absence of a green light In Its proper fldenco that tlio absence of a green light In Its proper place contributed to tlio collision. . It Is claimed, on tho part of the defensoj that there was no sufficient lookoutjm board of tlio schooner. It may be admitted that •' thtire wiif not ahyone-etntloned as a regular lookout at it-proper placd' prior to theuiol- llslon; but, If there hml-Ueen, whatjjlffuronco " would It have 111111107 The object of a look¬ out was to ascertain and guard agajust U|>- pronchlng vessels. There was mai|y men - on board of tlio schooner who saw tho llghT of tiie propeller a long way oil'. The object of tlio lookout, therefore, was fully nccom- pUshed. The light of the propeller was seen, and It was known that it was n propeller iipprpachlng. The'diityof tho schooner, un¬ der such elrciimstiiiices, wns to keep 011 her course without change; and I think the evidence establishes, beyond jill doubt that she did keep on her course, and that If them wore any change of t lie schooner, It Was when the collision was so Imminent that the change did nut contribute In any degree to' tliB collision.^ Soino of the witnesses on the part of the propeller stale whilo some of the sails'were full just at Ihe point of collision, others were shaking in the wind, which, it is claimed, would not have been the cose provided she had kept 00 her course, as she had tho wind free. Ho y far tills may have been efi'eeted, If true, by any chalice of course at the moment, or by the (net, that 1 the schooner had not made full sail on her, I do not think It is necessary to inquire. There Is nothing in the other point, that the schooner wutj not proporly navigated. As already said, It was her duty to keep her course, and the evidence shows that she .did; or, if there wero any change, It was one that did not cause tho collision.' 'Yyiine&sea on board of the schooner stato that after the ptopeller had been observed for some time, and the indications were that proper measures wero not being taken to avoid the schooner, a torch was fit and shown from Ihe vessel, hi order that additional evidence might be given to the approaching propeller ol the danger uf collision. Those on board of the schooner? declare that tills torch was Shown in ample time to enable the propeller to avoid the schooner; while those 011 board ol the propoller stale that it was shown when— »/- the collision was unavoidable. 1 do not pluee anv great stress upon the exhibition of the torch under the circumstances, because ot the conflict of evidence In relation to tho time when it was shown. In looking at the whole case, it seems lu me that the necessary vigilance requited of the propeller at tlio time and under the circumstances was not shown, and that the collision may be fairly said lo have been the consequence of this want of vigilance ouherpart. There seeins lo be no question abuut the damages, anil the det;ree ol the dlstrieteourt is affirmed. A torpedo boat has Just been satisfactorily tried at Constantinople, in which a Siemens electro-motor drives two'screw propellers in the rear ol the boat. Tho veusel Is cigar- • shaped, and moves under water at the rate ol eight miles an hour. Its path Is traced In the day time by a wire which projects above the surface, and is followed by a telescopti; in the night by a lantern having an opening only towards the shore, and a tight too tec- hie to betray ilscif to tlio enemy "by" reflec¬ tion. Tile place In which llie torpedo boat was tried Iiirnlshed a severe test, on account ol the strong cm rents, which vary in direc¬ tion in different parts of the channel, and in strength from 0110 part ol tlio day to another. Tlie_wlies conveying the explosive discharge are, of course,'distinct from those carrying ' ' tlio motive current. . - • ---------------------;------------------------""""----------------------------■— A pew steambarge being built for Hull & Amandlnger was launched at Benton Ha r- borSatuulav- llcr dimensions are : Length of keel, 102 feet; breadth of beam, M% feet; depth of hold, 8>^ feet. Her engine, which Ib 18x20 Inches, was built by Anderson & ~" Coleman, St. Joseph. Her boiler is 7xH feet, and her whool 7 feot in diameter, with 11 feot load. fe: • / ^'