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• THE MARINE .RECORD. I'lf.'ZS^r:,' ±r,n..Zr^ .oaLf.orl.lllote^oa/lncurredprlorto TREASURY DEPARTMENT RULINGS TONNAOr TAX, Treasury Dopurtment, July 17,1884. SI/:—I have the honor to acknow ledge the rieelritof your letter of the vlOth Instant, In which, referring to section 14 of the shipping not approved an the 20th ultimo, you Inqulro wltotlier In th - ■• • In at present. it ports named lir suhl section, nity occasion for the President to Inane h proclamation -suspending the collection of the duties .therein Imposed. ' I beg to any, In reply, that the first proviso of the section In question relieves vessels arriving frorn porta therein named irom pay¬ ment oi so much of the S cents per ton duty or other equivalent tux or taxes as may be In excess of tho tonnage and lighthouse duos Imposed on American vessels by the govern, mentor the foreign coumiy In which such ports of departure am, situated. It Is the opinion of this department that no giisnenslon of collection of (his 3 cents per toff tax should be made until the'powor whoso vessels are Interested In obtaining the Exemption from duty conceded by the act, ahull hnveapplled jhercfor- tffthe department of slate, and bIiiiII have shown lo Its satisfac¬ tion ilint the sum ot several charges Imposed by tho power in the ports of the localities namnd on the vessels of till* country foi ton tinge dutj, light money, or similar tax (other than such as are purely municipal) Is less than IB cents per ton per annum, and shall specify the exuot sum of aucl) charges, by virtue of the provisions of the section, after such an exhibit shall have been made bv competent Authority, the vessels of every nation entering ports of the United Statis from the localities named would bo entitled to an exemption from tonnage-tax equal to the amount by which our annual rate of IS cents iper ton exceeds the sum of the charges im¬ posed on our own In the ports of the same localities For example, If the sum of the tonnage duly, light money charge, nud other equivalent tuxes levied annually by the of vos<ela nlfrlvlng at your port from Canada, or any other English possessions enumerated In the 1 lib section of the act. To collector of customs, '1 olcilo, Ohio BKAMES— ADVANCK V AGES. Treasury Department, July 30,1884 Gentlemen.—In reply to your Inquiries the passage of the act of June 20,1844, pro¬ hibiting pujmei|tof advance wages, I have to state that wlille appreciating the em¬ barrassments attending thkreeent change In the lnw, the act hnvlpg gone into oflect but a lew days alter lis passage, I do not, after consultation with the law officers of the de¬ partment! consider it as within the province of this bureau to give any construction to the Taw other than such as may be necessary for the guidance of Its subordinate officers in m itters of administration, , Whatever arrangements persons may miike in order to obviate the difficulties re- feried to by you,, they, cunnot be based on the official sanction ol this bimeiln. jAliVrs Patten, Commissioner of Navigation. 'lo Mr. Unities'!'. El well, President of Maritime Exchange, imd'oihers. , still ute law of England In the parts of the Bermudas la but 9 cents per ton, all vessels entering ports ot this countrj from the Bermuda's-would be entitled to an exemption of 0 centB per ton per annum in our ports. But tho EnglHh Government should apply for the exemption, and definitely show the amount to whlclTit is entitled. If it were shown that no tonnage duty, light money, or other charges levied by English statutes attaches to our vessels in the Bermudas, the tax of 3 cents per ton on every entry or 15J centsj>er ton per annum would cen»ot«ho chargeableon all vosaelaetltcrlng In nur-poi is as coming from tho Bermudas, and it \r ilie opinion of thlB department that the procla¬ mation of the President should definitely specify the amount of the exemption, if It shall be partial, or announce that the ubolL- ttbn of the tax la complete, but that proof of a Just -claim to partial or entire exemption should bq mado to the, department of elate by some power wlioae vessels are affected by such tax, before proclamation shall be made by the President. To Hon. Fred'k Frelinghuyaen, Secretary of State,. rERSONB NOT ALLOWED TO BOARD INCOMING VESSELS.* ' Treasury Department, July 21,1884. In order to the more effectual guardianship of the rights of sen men, and to Inaure the better execution of these sections of the "Act to remove certain burdens on the American merchant marine, and encourage the Amer¬ ican foreign carrying Under nnd for Other purposes," approved June 20,1884, directed to that purpose, the department orders that the provisions of section 0, the passenger nK 1882! In relation to the going on board ot vessels of unauthorized persons, be sti Ictly enforced. No keeper of a sailors' hoarding Iioubo or hotel, no runner thoiefor, hor any other person Interested therein or connected there with) la to be allowed to board Incoming vessels until after they reach their dockB and all passengera and baggage shall have been discharged. To collectors and other officers of tho ciiBtoma. TONNAGE TAX. Treasury Department, July 20,1884 Sir'—Your letter of tho 23d Instant is ro- celved, in which you inform the department that you are collecting 80 cents per -ton as tonnage-tax on vessels, under the construc¬ tion which you aro'obliged to give to the de¬ partment circular ot the 27th ultimo, con¬ taining "Begulatlons under the Shipping Act." The 14th section of that act abolished the tax of 80 cents per ton, and substituted therefor two rates, of 3 and 0 cents per ton Which rate ahould be levied was determined bj the law Itself by the locality of tho foreign clearance Under the first proviso of tho section tho Max of 8-centa per ton could be entirely or partially suspended by n proclu matlon of the President. | The circular (clniiBo'scvonth) directs col¬ lectors not lo suspend the collection of tho tux refcircd to In tho first provlBO til) In¬ formed (hat such suspension bad been authorised by audi a proclamation. A a the proviso referred only to the tax of 8 cents per ton, that was alao the tax referred to by the circular, and la the tax to be collected 'J HE OLD RIVER BED Compai ntlvely few people in Cleveland at e familiar with the hlstory-ol the old river bed, or, as it is sometimes called, the Cuyahoga ship channel. Here ntiJ there is to be found an old resident who renumbers when It was nothing more than a bayou, with anntLJiarB ut each end, cutting off communication .both h llh the lake and river. It la a pnpulai fal¬ lacy among thoae who have never taken (lie trouble to louk the matter up, that in the early days of Cleveland the uncertain Cuya¬ hoga emptied Its muddy waters Into Lake Erie, and not until the present channel was opened up by the government Id 1820 was It abandoned as ah outlet. As will be shown further on, this Is llicoircct. Aa tar buck us 1807, eleven years after the founding oi the city, the enterprising citi¬ zens of Cleveland set on foot a scheme for opening a lino of communication for trading purposes, between Lake Erie and the Ohio river. The channels of the Cuyahoga and 'J HBcarawas. rivers w ere to be cleaned out for the paBauge of good sized boats. \ wagon road seven miles long, from Old Portage to New Portage, would make the connection between the rivers, lo defray the expenses connected with this enterprise* the fcfute leg Islature authoilzed a lotleiy. There were to be 12 800 tickets ut $5 ench, with prizes aggre gating $04,000, from which a deduction "Of 1% P°-r ue"t was to be made. The drawing ' never enmo off and. the whole affair fell through, tho money paid In for tickets be¬ ing refunded'. And so the projected Im provements wore delayed for the time being. But Cleveland was growing in commercial Importance and her lake trade, wlrlle com paratlvely Insignificant, waa no small fea¬ ture at that early day. The harbor facilities were very few. The mouth of tho river was some BOO teet west of Ita present location. Sand bars were constantly forming nnd proved very troublesome. Vessels of any size—and the largest of them would be classed m playthings nowaday—were obliged to lay at anchor outside and discharge their cargoes by means of yawls and light- era. At certain seasons of (ho year persons* could walk across the mouth of the river dry. shod, and at no time was there more than four or five feet of water. An old map in the city engineer's office shows the course of theT.rtver and the shore Hue of the lake ua fur brick bb 170(1, when trie founders of tho olty settled bote. The river then flowed In about the same direction as now, until it reached what Is now the Junction of the old river bed and the present river. Here It turned sharply to the loft and emptied Into the lake at a point not far distant from, the extreme northern terminus of West River street. It wue then 800 (eet wide at lta mouth. The shore line of the hike ruu along the center of Front street and just north of where the Lake Shore bridge now stands, In 1801 tile,east bank of tho rlror hud settled up, and at tho mouth was barely ISO feet wide. No surveyi had been taken again until 1820, w)ien the course of the uhangeuble stream had shifted considerably. Tho west bank had gradually been creeping eastward until It touched a point that Is now the extreme of Bmilh'adrydock slip. The bund bars that had formed on the east bank Qf the river had been washed awuy lor a distance of 200 feet back. The shore line of the lake bad alao now changed nnd tho south aide of Front street was now at the watet'a edge. This wub about the condition of the river when the business men of Cleveland woke up to the necessity of taking some steps to secure a safe and convenient harbor, Svhloli, If tho city was lo become a gi eat commercial center, was the first and most necessary ob¬ ject. In 1810 an attempt was made to build a plor out Into tlie lake A company waa organized for the purpose, a charter ob¬ tained from the legislature and something done toward building the pier, hut the storms soon washed the slight structure away. Nine years later, In 1825, the first practical work commenced. After earnest aolloltatlon Congress appropriated $5,000 to construct a harbor at Cleveland. This sum waa confUlccVuo tho oollectnrof tills port, Asuhol Walworth, to uao us ho saw1 fit, no government surveys having been made. In the summer of 1825 the $5,000 Was expended In blilldlng u plor 000 feet Into tho hike, nearly at right angles tq, the shore, begin¬ ning forty rods east of the cast bunk of the river at Its mouth. This Is where the present weat-'govcrnment plor la now loantod. The object In building this plor waa to prevent tho predominating north¬ east wind from driving th.e sands Into tho mouth of tho river. It mis supposed that il this Waa done the force of tho wntor would keep the channel clear. However, the ob¬ ject Bought waa not accomplished. 'No In¬ crease In tho depth of the channel could be observed, and when tho snnd wasyLiit out It llllejl up again with the tame raplflliy as be¬ fore. * "• In 1820 another appropriation of $10,000 was grunted bj Congress, and tho next year, In the spring of 1827, the United States en¬ gineers determined upon auolhiir plan. This was that the ilver should he made to empty Into the lako last of the pier' that had been built two years before, and that another pier ahould be const footed still oust of that, the channel being compelled tarun Into the lake between the two structures. A low of piles was dilven across the river, and a dam built about through the center ol what now Is Smith's slip. When tho lull rains crime on the river rose rapidly. A trei ch was dug across the isthmus froniUio river to the lake. As soon us a small opening was made-the river broke through and n new and naviga¬ ble channel was established. The next apt Ing the east pier was begun nnd completed the following year. In 1831 what was known as the Buffalo Company purchased the Carter luriii on the west Side. Preparations w'ere made for building up a city that should fur eclipse the older settlement on the east side ol thtf] river. It waa In this year that the tost end of [he old river bed waa opened up. 1 hat (his bayou waa In furmer years the regular channel of tlie Cujuhoga cannot bo doubted, ■but there la no record of when the river broke thiough Its banks nnd made for ifself a sfiorter outlet to the lake, which in later years » ua Ip lta turn to be abandoned for a still mora direct route. Black Hawk, the famous Indian chlal, is reported aa once say' ing that when his-grandfather was a mere youth the rlver,'durlng a tiemendous storm! waahedWay the narrow neck of land that separated it from -the lake, thus deserting the old river bed nnd'forming for itself the new channel. 'J hia waa long befoie the tlist settlers of Cleveland ever heard of New Con¬ necticut or dreamed ot the existence of such a river as the Gitynhogn. The history of the famous struggle be¬ tween Ohio City and Cleveland is too well known to bo commented upon The younger borough was ambitious to have'a Harbor ol its own, entirely Independent of Cleveland Tho old river bed waa to be, deepened and the channel to tho hike ut we weet end re* opened. As a prclimlnnryUtt this Ignoring ol the Cleveland harbor erntance of the Cuyahoga river, a canal was* out through the marsh, from opposite the entrance, to the Ohio canal to the old river bed, which was thus lo be irrnde the termlnue of the Ohio ciuiul. '1 lie projectors of this plan over¬ reached themselves, and the new haibor waa nevei created. The canal gradually dried up, and Eresaley's slip Is nil that remains of it to day. Thl8 Is the history of the first at¬ tempts to Improve the river and .harbor. The fupts have been obtained from reliable sources, and can he depended upon as cor¬ rect.— Cleveland Ihrahi 7 NAUTICAL NOTES An Investigation Into the cause of the col¬ lision between the steamers Corsican nnd Prince Arthur at Montreal recently baa been oidered by the Canadian government. The case of tho seizure of the United Mates Bteamor Ii-luud Hello at Gununoque a few days spice for Infringement of tho coast¬ ing laws, hhB been laid beforo the Canadian minister of custom 'those Interested in Ca¬ nadian steamers plying on tho Sf. Lawrence protest strongly against tho action of the law. If n retaliatory policy Ib adopted by the United Stales, It will work disastrously to their Interest. ( Captain James Hewitt, commanding the 'schooner Delaware, was defendant in the police court, Cleveland, on the charge of tin lawfully uud wilfully reluslng to obey the orders of one Arthur Devlne. The offense consisted in Hewitt's running his vessol In¬ to Axworthy's slip, arid refusing to get out when ordered by the harbor master Devlne said the Delaware Was In the way of passing vessels. Hewitt waa fined $5 and costs, and told not to do It again. A goofl deal.of oomplulntls being made by vessel captains In regard to the delay at the Wollnnd acqucduot, and they any that n good deal ot the detention Is unnecessary The schooners Golden West nnd A. B. Mor- rlSj whlsh recently passed up the canal both Inrge vessels nnd on their first trip, were de¬ tained twenbyBix hours by the man lirbiiurge of the acquediict, and when they were al¬ lowed to paBS through the wuter was two Inches lower than when thoy first caipo thor/ ""SET* Nullum Wukcflold, better known a; "Un¬ cle" Wukelleld In Frankfort, claims to be. the oldest lumber aculor on tho entire chain , ,il^isul„ »c, miun mm of lakes, having been engaged In tho bust-1 tlsm.— Daioit Fiea Pie»», nous slnoo 1888, part of tho time on the emu or Maine, nnd on Lake Mlohtgan. Hodl! t tlnqtly remembers tl-e anow storm In Jni»" \ 1810, when It anowed nil day nnd birds fron * *• to death. Ice formed to tho Iblglciiesgor win dow glass. It was known asTho year of no summer. Uncle Wakefield Is woll known lo vessel mon, and one of our best olilzcnt. Lost week, when the tug John Groaorv was passing "Racine, towing two scow" Is den with lumber, Mr. T. KerneNind his son" who wore out In the lake off 8lxtocnib street in a html, rowed up'clnse to tho tow and tho suction of the tug's wheel drew the boat ud under the tow line. The result Wna, tho boat wub cupplzed and the occupants thrown Into the water. Mr. Korner .mnnnged to swim to one of the soowa, ,but aftertvard bravely plunged Into the water again and ropoued ine boy, who was clinging to th« tow lino. Mr, F. R. Bull, who wltnesacd tho nocident, started out In a bout and brought them In. The life suvtng-crew also hurried out wiilrthe surf-boat, it was a very nar¬ row escape for both Mi. Korner and hit aon. * A TUG SUNK. Tho tug-Black Bull No. 2 was sunk on tho 10th In tho rlvor, opposite the toot of Frank¬ lin street, by collision with the steumbarge A. E. Wilds. The Block Bull, commnnded , by Captain John Daltnn, was crossing tho river from the Air Lino elevator to tho lum¬ ber market to receive orders regarding some i towing which had to be donei Just aa alia had got started to cross the Wilds came " uroujid the*bend from Luke atreet bridge, running at ulj-ute of speed which la peculiar to that class of vessels. Two signal whlstlw were blown, but before there- was any re¬ sponse the steumbnrgo had crushed lnto4he> tug, hitting her just libit It of the engine room on the stni board side. The force of she blow was so great that the etearubarge's stem perforated the tug'a heavy wale stroke and tho timbers of hei side until It almoit reached the tug's house. In an Instant the steambaVge had bilcked a way, her bow swung clear of the Black Ball's stern, and then she proceed on hor way lakeward aa If nothing find happened. It was nil up with the tug. She had not proceeded twenty feet before alio careened and went down, tlie murky water of the river closing over her with a roar.—When the two vessels enrae to¬ gether Captain Dulton, fearing that tlie ateanupjpe might have been broken, lumped hendlong oOV,pf the pilot house Into the river In order to nvold being scalded. He swam to the tug Wolf nnd was drawn aboard by ono of the crew of that bout. 1 he engineer and deckhand followed Captain Dulton very closely, hut the fireman and cook stood on the sinking tug'a fantull. The former .was ready to jump when tho occasion required, but the .cook seemed bewildered. Finally the fireman jumped clear of the tug just as her deck begun to disappear under the water, and .the cook jumped on his bVck, He oould not swim, but he did succeed In holding pn to his shipmate w llh a tenacity which was rather remarkable, who made every possible effort to shako him off. Somo sailors put out In a yawl boat and rescued the engineer fireman, deckhand and cook. All that li visible of tho Black Ball la the top ot her smokeatack and pilot house. As her position la an extremely dnngeroua one she will be raised a once, although it has been sugj gested to tow her as alio Is to a drydock. Ihe latter la the quickest and most feasible plan There la much difference of opinion among marine men aa to" where the responsibility of the accident ought to be pluced, but thla point will probably be settled in the courts Tho Wilds wna certainly golnt nt a higher rate ot speed than was necewWyy*but her captain was doing only what.qvery other Btoumbnrge ciptnln does ever/ day. Then the Black Bull wna crossing'the river— Croaalng the Wilds' bows nnd got In audi a position that alio could not be extricated be- ■ fore tho ateambarge had borne down upon her. The Bla. k Bull No. 2 belonged to the V, O T. lino of tugs, and Ib valued nt $5,000, Sho was built by Nottor, ol Buflnlo, in 1871, and tins been engaged in haibor towingnere ever since. Captain Higgle, her owner, will tako Immediate steps tq rnlsp and repair the boat, and ehe will probably bo In aervlte again in two weckB. t The collision caused n good deal of excite¬ ment about the docks, nnd great crowds of people, thronged from overy direction to view the-Bunkon tug.—Jutei Ocean. SHE WENT OFF"iN THE RAIN A»very Innocent looking old man who had been waiting twenty-eight houts for a Lnko Superior boat, and who was told to bo at the foot of Woodward avenue at noon jCBterunyi came slouching down to the wharf about« o'clock p. m. and mildly queried: "Se-tbeboatlan'tlnyeir" „,. "In! Why she's come and gone! Gotm before noon and lald^hree hours." "Moroy! but I was to go on that boat I , "Didn't tho agent tell you when to comer "Yes, he said at noon, but I, was looking around town, and It sot In to rain, and I sup¬ posed she'd wait until aftor It cleared u> YotHlou't mean sho wontoffln tho sbowor r "Ycs.-ehe did " " ' "Right In tho pouring rain?" "Yes, sir." "Lalauz, but I wouldn't have believed they'd do It. Mebbe It's just as welH did" I go, for I've nothing but tills old umbrella, umLgettln' wetnllus brings on the rheuuid -