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THE MARINE RECORD. $he Marine Mecord. Fubllitifed Emry Tlmraduy at'lVl Huparior _ Street, [Leader Ilnlldlng.] ht l FOMEROT, EDitor and FroDrietor, TKItMS OF SlIIlSOEIPTlONl BUI •ne jeer, portaje pild Six monthi, poatue pild .12.00 .1.00 IlTtrliblj In adfanee, The MARINE BECOIID ctn be found (or Bale a> the following pIicMt O F Bowman, corner ol Poarl and Dotroll tta., Clare- Juuil, Ohio ' Joetph Gray, No 0 Woit Randolph street, Chicago (,. Rohmer, Mlohlsan street Bwlne; Bridge, Buffalo, No* York. C r Jolimon, 117 Wait Superior atmet, T)u|uth Minn- D UcMtMara & Co i Sarnla, Ontario. Win ttoONar, Eicanaha, lllchltan J t Somertllle, ilinlitei, Michigan ArUclee, lettan and queries on, all eubjecti are aollcl- ted ADVERTISING BATES. Ten tenia per Una, nonpareil meuurement, or tl 20 per Inch, each Inatrtlon, lour weeka $4 00, with a liberal diuonnt ootorden amounting to SiO 00 or over Lntered at the Poat Office at CtereUmt ai aecood- cjnu mail matter. V TBE SHIPPING SILL' Developments ol the past week In Con- Kim have shown tlmt we are no longer In danger of having the free ihlp or any other fi ee-trade amendment affixed to the shipping bill, In fact there is not much prospector our having a shipping bill In any shape, thankgjto the ignorance or unwillingness ot Congress, but the advantage of having none At all over having one with a free ship clause la ao great that In the proieut state ol affaire, bad at It Is, we have escaped a fell calamity. The seeming unwillingness of Congrees-to ~do justice to our shipping Interest, whloh presents Itself In a more or less emphatic aspect every time a measure Is Introduced for that purpose, ha) given cause for muuh speculation. Ournatlonal legislature takes hold of land projects with no hesitation what¬ ever. Land transportation sohemes are en joyable feasts, railroad Interests have only jo —preeenLJhelLwant, be_Jt_a Jand grant, bond extension, or perchnnco a subsidy, and Congress recognizes at once the manifold bleialngs It will bring to the country and regulations are granted It is not so with maritime interests. When a shipping bill comes up all are at sea. This appears in the pyes of Congressmen tu be a sort of scape- pointed, which raiaii It out of thejiower of any one member to oontrol it by Interposing objootiun to lis consideration, and it la to be hoped that the Dlngley shipping bill will finally become a law, with He original prt* visions Intact. If the House runlets' on Its free- thlp amendment, thero ie none. If the Houao I has learned anything from Itx MnrrUon bill1' experience, It may bis willing to let the froo trade alauso go. PATERNAL COmRESSMtfN. The report that Senator Hale Introduced a bill on the 21at. tilt., requiring -steamers"to be equipped With life boats of a cortaln patent, and that wherever the words "llfo boats" are used in the Revised Statuses they rfauet be made to read "Blohardton*s patent lffo boats," Is probably a clever advertisment. Wo nre prepared-to-ctedit almost any eoheme for ImpOelng upon moHfjme interests with some degree of existence especially when Its origin Is placed in CongressMuit, preposterous that we van not TSollov such a bill has been Introduced, not ha the Record at hand to verify the report There Is no dangor of such a bill evor be¬ coming a law. Vessel owners havo, time out of mind, been the victims of the cupidity of Inventors, whp In order to bring their articles Into use, invite the attention and by some means secure the influence of members of Congress to play the paternal act, by Introducing bills to the eltect that navigators, being a stubborn class of men, cannot he brought to see the merit of an invention until It Is forced upon them by net of congress whereby a number of worthless things are foisted upon owners for the aggrandizement of the Inventor and manufacturer. If these Inventors have con¬ fidence In the merits of their appliances, why do not they have them adopted by llgitlmute means, proof of their value,* and a healthy domand would naturally follow. Vessel owners and masters have learuedi by experience, to look upon all marine goods that are made necessary by act of Congress, as of doubtful utility. The Congress of the United States Is two august a body to lend its influence to the adoption, by a specific Industry or Interest, of any patented artlolo or new tangled notion because one member has become Interested sufficiently in tt to advocate Its supposed merltfl. and whoprob- ably does not know w hat essential advan' tnge It would be if applied. A congressman who would'lntroduce and advocate a measure of this nature could probably be Induced to advocate the use of a "faithful" messenger Instead ol an anchor if some one with enfll- dent "Influence" would bring the Wutles of THE SS. ALBERTA. HpK<al Vmtlptmdmet Jfuiiu Stard Dktboit Ma) 1.1. Thb steamship Alberta, one of jhrco lino eteiimora built at Glasgow, Scotland, to ply between Owed Sound and lako Superior, in connection with the Canada PaolflcHall- way, called here on Saturday morning and I in a brief space of time was thronged with a concourse of visitors etich as wao never be¬ fore seen, at (he arrival of any steamer. In saying that she Is tho'flnost steamship which has touched at this port Is by no moans overstating facte. To prerent to your readers the detail* of this One vessel would ocoupy too much space, besides which It la by no means riccossary, but simply hastate she Is. perfection, with all the mbdern Im¬ provements. She Is 270 feet long, 88 feet 0 Inches beam and 10 feet hold. She Is built of steel with throe decks of the same mater¬ ial; two masts, alsooroteel. The steel plates hull are one Inch In thickness. The tying capacity Is 2,000 tons, net tonnage ; cylinder 70x15; stroke 48 Inches, steam pressuie 100 pounds; boilers 12 feet 3inches long and 14 feet diameter. She has fourteen engines, including her compound driving engine. Two of these engines are for steer 1ng, two for raising th J anchor, three for tire engines, one electric engine, one revers¬ ing engine, one turning engine, two hoisting engines and two for driving the bout. She has accommodations lor two hundred flret class and two hundred steerage passengers, and Is provided v. 1 h an elevetor for removing the ashes Irom the hold. Hot and cold water la to be tound In every department. She Is also provided with one hundred and thirty electric lights, which go to all parts of the ship, neither oil nor match being used on board save her signal lights,. Her masts and smokestack have the same rake as Is observ¬ able In ocean steamships. Her life boats nre furnished with compasses and sailing gear. Her cabin arrangements In every depart¬ ment are unequalled anywhere, and it may be added tl)at she Is a steamship In the true sense of the word. On her arrival she was adorned with the flags of all nations save that of tbt stars and itripes. Thl» was quickly noted by Captain Thos. D< Allen, of the steamer Ivanhoe, who called tire cap¬ tain's attention to tho omlglonand remarked the same to Mr. W. H. Sullivan, a business f Concluded from tit page,] oil gout Interest It hangs on the Interests ot g ivenimental piotccilon, encircles the adhere ol paternal aiilhoiltv as (twere, oi Is too far from hotup, at len-t a part of the time, to J>e considered a part of the bmly politic. It w as denned by the House of Rupiesenlvps of an slight account that It flpp intly passed Mr Dingley's bill With a free ship amendment tacked on to it that would have placed shipbuilding In this country in a condition to be avoided by all capital, when other Important Industries are jealously protected. This was a more pernicious measure than Mr. Morrison's horizontal reduction bill. But what of that V It allotted nothing but the shipping Inter¬ est.. Let it swell. We can imagine the stunning effect that a measure to allow loll¬ ing stock or railroad rails to be Imported tree of duty would have on Congress. It \ would have met a worse defeat than the late tariff bill did. Yet, the proposition to ad¬ mit ships to American, registry, freo ofilmy, was of precisely the same nature. We can account for this action only on the theory that theJIonso Is uafrlendly to the shipping interest. The Senate is more conservative, , though we regret to see, but tltt'e more sensible. When the shipping bill reached this bod} It promptly killed the freo trade amendment, and during the discussion voted down tno or three others of the same nature, made by Its own members, showing that the dogma will gain no foothold thci;. So tar iheVahlpplng Interest Is safe. Sinator Frye, ■olHfchie, who has charge of the ship¬ ping bill In the Senate, has show n himself il friend to the marine men In nil his atlii'iis. He pushod the matter w 1th eucrgj and dis¬ cretion. ThelloiiM, reltislug to toiiiui Ir. the amendment as returned from the Sen ate, a eonfeienee \oiuinlltce has hem a ji¬ lt before his mlndr Nevertheless the question would bo-asked by marine men, "what is a faithful messenger good for?" THKlIenueplu canal people have succeeded with thelrscheme beyond the moat sanguine expectations, as they are represented1 tn^the river and harbor appropriation bill by the sum or fdOO.OOO II the bill becomes a law with that recognition ot Its duty in the promises the government will stand, pledged to build the canal. That will be i sufficient guaranty, after Its appropriation In 1882 of |80,000 lor a survey, that Uncle Sam sees enough In the scheme to warrant hie under¬ taking^. No one can fail to see that this ie an Immensn advantage gained. Whether the canal will be of any use or not Is a question which we will not now discuss. The building of It will make lively times for a while rind no one to pay but the govern¬ ment. In the ta'B In the United Stales District Court of Bdward B. Snilih'and TowtiBend Davie, Insurance agents, ot Buffalo, against the wrecked echooneY John T. Johnson, in which the property selzeil was ►old a short time since by the United States Marshal for $4,000. a default and decree pro confmo was entered on the 7th Instant In favor ot the llbelant'sclalm of |8,000 foi salvage set vices, and the proceeds of the siile were oidered distributed upon libelant's claim, after first deducting tiie oosta of unit and expenses of sale. Die amount roullzcd by tho libelants was (3,880 02. ------------------■■»-•-—--------■ Tiiobk who purpose to make tho'Great Lakes their trine] giound this summer will bo attracted by a paper on "The North Shbre" of Lako Superior In tile next (June) Harper's, Illti8tniti.il bj Mr. C. Graham. man near the wharf, who oTTshOTCTiotice brought a United States flag and presented It to the steamer, which was hoisted amid the cheers of the orowd. As is pretty generally known the Alberta Ie one of three steamers brought over from Scotland Inst year, the others being the Algoma and the Alhahasca. The former passed up on Thurs- day evening, the latter this (Monday) morn¬ ing without calling. The description of the one tallies wltii the other two precisely. The Alberta Is officered as follows: E Anderson, eommiindei; cblef englneei, D. McLean, with two assistants; purser. J.S.Johnston; steward E. O. Masterson. She cost $250,000, or thereabout. She continued her voj age at noon on (he day of her arrival. Strange as il may appear not one of the Detroit papers gave a correct statement of dimensions of the steamship A Iberia. Two of them were unanimous In giving her length ai 170 feet, which ie-ordlpnrlly that ot n medium sized craft. Those presented above aru Irom the chief officer and can be etrictly relied upon. ------------1— m Mi --------1--------- In an Interview with a Detroit Times re¬ porter, a lake captain raja that some of the lako vessels are too large. In comparison with ocean vessels they cai ry more for their lldrnftot water, as they uie mad* flatter with IWOader beam, whlleocean \essala are made deep to stand the heavy seal. Few ocean coasting vessels are as huge as the David Dow, which is 265 feet over all and 28 feet beam. The Dow, howevi-r, Ie unable to carry over two-thirds of her oapaolty, aa the water la too shallow In some parte of the lake*. The moit money Ik made by tho big Iron steamers. It doesn't require any more men to handle them than a smaller vessel and the motive power does not c*st as much In prop6rtion. A vessel carrying only 400 tons cannot clo«r expenses. In conclusion, he Bays If vessels on the lakes are made much larger they will lime to be built flat mid wide, arid as a vessel Iiiib to have a oor- tain proportionate depth to Its size to bo of any strength, thoy will have to be built of Iron or steel and wooden vessels will soon be a thing of the past. ____ bolleved that not long since she win one of the finest sldewhoel steamers that landed et our nharvoe. "To what base uaoa may we not oonie," * The limestone trade has become qulto a trafflo of lato. Scarce a day passes that not lose than two or more arrivals take place and I am Informed the business Is amply re-"*' muneratlve for medium elzod vessels. The bargo Iosco, laden with limestone for East Saginaw, sprung aleak yesterday (Mon¬ day) and will have to discharge and go Into drydock for necossary repairs. The man.who prophesied brisk times and good freights early In the spring Is nowhere to be found, otherwlse.no eotn-atum. J. W. H. . CHICAfJO. iipKialto Hi Mariiu Rnord Captain Rounds says it was dry rot and not rats that caused the leak In tho Higgle, and Ed. Ayer, tho recent purchaser of the schooner, will have all the losses to settle Captain RoundP, who made tho survey alone, Is inspector for the iEtim Insurance Com¬ pany. The Oocanica Is tho first craft to oomplete the round trip from Chicago* to Buffalo. Tug owners Intend to let their smoke cases go by default. Mr. Dunhan.'s wrecking tug, the keel of wnlch wae made at Miller Brothers' ship¬ yard a short time ago, Is In frame No ex¬ pense will be spared to make her a staunch, perfect boat. Schufeldt'e new boat, at Miller Brothers' shipyard Ie rapidly progressing. The tug_Ewlng Is undergoing repalra to comply with the exaotlons. The steamer Nunnemacher was Inspected and pronounced all right. Judge Blodgett on Tuesday began the call of his calendar of admiralty cases which have been *et lor hearing! '1 lie following |s a list of the joases: 44, Ander¬ son vs. propeller Wlssahlckon; 45, Phcenli Insurance Company vs. propeller Avon; CO, in re W. M. Egan, petition to limit, etc.; 75, Lake Michigan & Lake Superior Transpor¬ tation Company ^propeller Lawrence; 77, Brosseau ve. 006 tone o| cool; 110, Taylm vs. Union; 111, Michigan ~Barge Company V6. propeller City of New S'ork; 120, Singer & Talcoit Stone Company ts tug Albatross, 188, Kiiudson vs. schooner Mary; 82, John- son vs. schooner Negaunee; 78; Finn vs ' Lehigh valley Coal Company. The Chicago & Ogdensburg Line has been largely augmented In strength by the addi¬ tion of a number of newcratr. Beside the Wullnr I,. Frnst ni.il Nnrtlmrnar, whlnli One of Chester's telebrated fog horns was placed on board tho schooner Conneaut this week. were In file line last year, there are two large, steamships which have Just been com¬ pleted nt Detroit. The propeller Montengle and tow, schooners Mvijtle Star and White Stan and the propeller 'Wilson and tow, schooners Chester B. Jones and Manitowoc, have'also been chartered for the season and will also run In the line. Miller Broihers Bold the schooner J. F. Tracy to Mrs. Henrietta Smith for |800. Csptaln J. Mattel was over here Irom Saugatuck lust week. The'riew lug John Gordon,_ recently built iby him for George > Oilman, turned out such n great success thatr he has received orders from some CjilragQ parties to build two more tugs to be dupli¬ cates of the Gordon. . J. B. Slverteon, the well-known block and kpump manufacturer, nt 242 South Water street, accompanied by ids wife; started tor Boa.ton on Wednesday, where they will cm bark on the Cunard S.S. Samaria on Satur¬ day for England. They intend to visit some of the principal cities In England, Germany, Denmark, Swedou and Norway, and hope to return home next October. Mr. Sivert- son's business will be carried on as usual, during hie absence, by his soil and his able foreman, N. Hanson. V Captain J. S. Henderson made the quick¬ est trip on record betweqn Chicago and Ford rlvljr with the schooner Ford Rlvur, making thu round trip, lnoludlng loading, In three days and twenty-three hours, He made tt last year In four days, which was, until now, the fiiBteBt time on record. The new freight and 'passenger steamer A. B. Tajjoi, built at Saugatuck last winter by lior owner and commander, Cap¬ tain R. T. Rogers, Is making regular tri¬ weekly trips between Saugatuck and this pint. Shu is a good strong boat, tarries lots and HuM , ingl