The first of the sixteen vessels to be launched belongs to the Customs. The ceremony will take place in ten days.
'According to a spokesman of the Dock, all the thirteen Customs vessels are between 300 to 400 tons. These will be equipped with machine guns, and are. to be delivered in Sune' next, year 'On October 10 this year, the Si Ning and Wei Ning, sister gunboats, are to be launched' in the presence Of representatives of the Naval Ministry, Each gunboat is 140 feet overall, twenty feet beam, 300 tons displacement, and has a' speed of thirteen knots. Each will be equipped with two 57 min. quick firing guns, and four machine guns.
Guinboats of a more or less the same design have been constructed in the Dock during the past several years. Tt is expected that the naval authorities will place orders with the Dock for more gunboats of this kind,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.