result they have now been hell to be free from liability. The Taotai of Shan who adjudicated altogether to consider British law in dealing with it. He held that Chi must find in their own code all the provisions of British law before they will enforce contracts embodying that law, and in the end gave judanent to the effect that there is no provision of the Chinese law whereby a-man may be forced to pay extra money on his shares. Seeing that it is " condition of some, at all events, of the concessions the Chinese Gorernment have granted that a certain proportion of the capital of the undertaking mus' be owned by Chinamen, this decision is of the greatest importance. For it means that the Chinese shareholders with whom the British investors are to be compelled to associate themselves may, if things zo w Te: pudiate their liabilities with impunity.
Tae following interesting letter on the subject of Street Traction is from Transp rt of the 2nd ult, Dear Sir,—With reference to the leade otto in your issue of the 18th inst., would you be good enough to permit me to draw your attention to the fact that Mr. Baker, when quoting 54. as the cast per ear-mile for working the conduit cars in New York, completely loses sight of the fact that it is the American practice to run their cars at much higher rates of speed than would be tolerated in this country, and the cars sometimes 0 as fast as 15 miles an how It is beewnse of this high rate of travelling that the expenses are low, and not because of any inherent superiority of the conduit. If horse cars,, Were run at 15 miles per hour, instead of about 5, they would be able to show as low working costs as any electrical system, and it is surprising th: intelligent engineers in discussing America statistics do not bear in mind that the conditions are so very different. They seem to be so partial that, in their eagerness to accept " low working cost, they do not feel it incumbent to inquire how this figure is trived at.
Even the Stret Railicay Journal of New York, from which Mr. Baker took figures, said that "the speed clement cuts into transportation expenses" in a most nounced manner, and further asserts that New York Cit; ud Washington are peculiarly favoured in the matter of climate and cleanliness, the rainfall during the year being extremely small.... Moreover the conduit system even in the cheapest form. costs £50,000 to $100,000 per mile of single track, according to the pipes and other obstructions which have tu be removed." So it appears that eves the American e perts do not allozether consider the conduit such a blessing ax we are led to believe No electrical system, however, h able to show s these obtained on the Bloc Aune's, and Lytham tram-lines, operated by was motor cars at_a cost of.92d. per cars have been running at Blackpool since July, 1896, and at Trafford Park since the beginning of this year, with a total mileage of 400,000 miles, and have carried 1,500,000 passengers.
These cars could be introduced into London experimentally without the great expenditure necessary for an electrical installation, and the experience at Blackpool proves that they are as efficient as either the trolley or conduit, and much for, and being sell-contained have neither ugly network of wires nor an under-ound trough and its accompanying dangerous slot.
As your readers may not have heard of this gas moroc system, I trust you will publish this letter so that they may have an opportunity of comparing the claims of inw several systems, ant I presume you are artial and give all a chance to state their case.
Tae New York Maritime Register has usually about three coltinns of marine casualties every week. In the issue of the 7th alt. this list extends to no less than eleven columns of small type.
Vu New York: Maritime Register of the ult. says:—"The ship Hamitton Fish which has been laid up in the Erie Basin, Brooklyn, N. Y., since December, 1894, has been purchased from the estate of Thos. Dunham by Lewis Luckenbach and is now being converted into a coal barge, The Fish was one of the Black Ball line of packets with Chas, H. Marshall & Ca, as owners and agents at New York; with the dissolution of that line she' was added ty Duntam's fleet, and made several voyages in the western ocean freight trade. She is 1,581 tons register anid was built at Waldoboro, Me., in 1856 and was originally named IVm F. Storer, but being nearly destroyed by fire at the Black Ball pier at the foot of Beek-man street in 1870, she was rebuilt and named after the Secretary of State of that perind. Her last vaynge closed on the Ist of December 1894, when she arrived at New York from Bergen, Norway, from which port she made the run in the excellent time Of 43 days. The only remaining vessel of the packet fet rigged isthe, bargue Jacob A. Slamler, formerly of Boyd & Hincken's fleet of Bordeaux Packe's. She rests in the Erie Basin where she has been for some years past. Her rig has been altered somewhat by the shortening of her masts and being fitted with a spike bowsprit, She was overhauled by her purchasers. the Arbuckle Bros. last spring, who it is stated altered her to employ her as a. summer hotel."
""In the steadily increasing size of ocean-going steamships the Great Eustern has at last been surpassed in Jength, though not in tonnage. The Oceanic now building by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Ireland, for the White Star Line, is 704 fect long, with a gross tonnage of 17,000. while her developed horse-power is expected to exceed 40,000 the Great Eastern was 682 feet long, 18,900 tonnage and 7,660 horse-power, The Oceanic is expected to be able to cross. the Athntic in four and a-half days and to consume 700 tons of coal per day. The following table gives particulars of some ships which were leaders in their day, and shows how far in advance of hor time the Great Eastern was"
34 28 38 65 ass 900 682 82
150
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.