'Tue Cosstwise Lieuts or Cusa—An Iusteated Account of the Chinese 'Maritime Customs Service, Written by' Order of the Inspector General Customs by. Rogers Buniste Deputy" Commissioner of Customs." To be obtained. from sll Booksellers. "Price $10. (The Chin= eto version of the book is now in A further important record of the history of the Chinese Maritime Customs has been published under the title of "The Coastwise Lights of China," by Mr. 'T. R. Banister, under the orders of the' Inspector General of Customs. "In the Foreword Sir Prederick Maze draws attention to the fact that the lighting of the Chinese littoral has been of comparatively recent origin and that the founder of the National Lighthouse Service was Sir Robert Hart, who obtained authority from Government in the early six-of the last century to inaugur rate and operate a Lights Administration on. Western lines, in. the general interests of navigation, trade and revenue, Sir Frederick goes on to say:
+The matter having its hands, ho sleet" organised ancient technical Staff, and the chain of Lights extending from Newchwang Killngchow, which was subecquent= catablished "under "his. dieetion and 'Which compares favourably: with other' similar systems elsewhere youd Fender aavigee "In comparative infety, Ie hay "ale navigate the. dangerous Chinese' scan
policy of the Marine tends its maternal solicitude to the 'Vessels which penetrate hundreds of Miles into China itself on the bosom of the Yangtze and. other' Fivers, The dangers which the officers: and men of the Department run from Hoods, pirates, "and" typhoons. are common knowledge to all in Chins, For that reason alone the pablica:
of this book is to be warmly loomed. It ix, interesting introduction "fron. the Coast Inspector and the Engineer in-Chief, explaining the differen technical terms' applied to. the lights and aids. to" navigation on the coast and up the rivers. "The speed of modern steamships has raught about the need. for more powerful Tights:
As the speed of steamships inereas-
nly''more: powerful highest' ghee eeume ciate to, have not inving their distinguishing eharaekets Tapeated_ at shorter Intertuite so that the. navigator could take more fre anent observations of them, The neces: sity for this will be appreciated when sed that a -knot ship Lighting of the coast very considerable measure of sconomey i con struction of the lighthouses.
The highest first-order light-tower fon. the coast is that at Breaker Point, where, owing to the low level the Site, & tower 120 feet" from ast to vote was necessitated, That curse of the China seas, fog, is dealt with by a very large variety of fog signals. Lights are no use to the navigator in dense fog; and here modern invention has been useful:
Until lately these fog signals consisted of, sound' signals comprising sirens, © diaphones, "whistles, "reed horns, guns aad explosive signals, tells ete from which the found wa transmitted through the submarine bells of dia inters by means of Projected through the water.
Radio fog signals using the othe tas the medium for propagation, ever, have recently passed the experimental and are now being "in situations" where there are no factors to cause deflect Shout' Too "miles range, independent oat 00 sake rungs, "independent "weather conditions. In narrow Nowever, and. in certain Deacons cam effectively bier sound sian and he te teeing that the uration of the fash types of signals ure. in certain cir Skimatances to be considered supple eae ea eae ale wherefor" fen followed by'
The great, drawback to. air sound signals "is the erratic behaviour of beach ound onused by the. ever-varying Yangtze, Mtmospberie conditions, for which rea: won the seaman Is warned that. sou should be "looked. upon iznals rather than us positive tids to navigation. modern, improvements, and. many the Lighthouses under' its control are numbered among the most notable the. world=-for. example, the North lo, Pelpustan, whd Chuang Lights} and "the Cistoms Lightahips fare iikewine equipped with the Inteat appliances. A'Wireless Radio Beacon hus "been' placed recently at the forth Sndle Station, and two similar contrivances. willie provide Shaweishan and. the which will fuel other moans.
The development of the Murine Depurtoient and its, maintenance
Attributed, chiefly, to. the competent igh state "of "decency. may, be work performed" bs" the" Staff=past and. presents Engincersin-Ohiet, Goast Inspectors, Mechanics, und the
find' ie la "iting. that special peter~ Chinese and foreign Lightheepery fence be made here to the. vluabl fervicen rendered by Site David Henderson the, fest Ghiet, who built the Hlosthosen tone the ct a who responiisie for. the, construction. of a reputed to. have been personaly
more Lighthouses than any? po facilitates" the taking of beatings While many of the elder lights. ba shes in' one evolution, im modern optics the num-bor of panels is reduced. as low at the tthe "situation th has, for Instance, three panels yield:
'The "opts at "Chuang ting' lashes of between 050,000 a milton' candle-power each.
Without the invention of the mer-cary trough float, by which the en optic is oated on mercury and Fevolved with a minimum of friction, ie auch speeds can By meant
only, the largest optic. can be revolved by the pressure of the Witele Hnger. "The older lights were supported on conical rollers unt on' annular bevelled roller tracks heavy, welt "and chain Clockwork "mechani was, req fo\ revolve them, whereas 2 eto amra years Captain A.M Const Inspector," wi 4 with Rim in respect of the sel Hon "of sites, ete from the navi one avy miveral'colza "all at ional standpoint, and" also. in hectlon with the general. governance of the Department. The names of the uble successors of the above dia tingulahed gentlemen are as follo Yielded a. much more powerful Const Inspectors: Captains W. Ford.
"pien. d Eldeldge Last ofall in recent years collodigm covered mantle been discarded anda more closely ype which ie flexible before {tis first burned off has been adopted.
Harding, D.C. Dick" and This flexible type is known asthe Awoedie'stodart (the present Nautoform" mantle, and its closer texture and "more" nearly" spherical At a later period the operations of po spe yields "n brighter" and. more Santo Buoys ud" Sencons ficient' light. five been estabitahed ow the Sungart In addition, acetylene gas has been widely adopted for the smaller the Yangize, the Pearl and the: We lights. These lights are economical Rivers: in use and easily fitted, but at the moment the Department has been compelled to go easy on their use Wothe general interest of ven ropeectively and efleently" develop owing to the prevalence of piracy, for they offer special temptations navigation. 4 to the enemies of Inw and order Mr. Banister obtained the ration of the Bagineer-in-Chief on the high seas. Conditions in China are not yet favourable for the the Customs and the service and the adoption of electric light: Books attractively ildstrated by ting Const Inspecte, In Europe and America the electric light to lighthouses Pitrge number of excellent photo ing ground, largely on frame and, of course, there are of economy as of keepers can usually be reduced, if Bre'lighting system from section to not altogether dispensed with when this form of lighting Is adopted, but section. certain. nations also owing Me. Banister the Tnereased candle-powder" which thing of the romance of the Marine be obtained. "In Chinn, however, Bopsrtment of the. Chinese Mari-the adoption of elecricty for ght: Tine 'Customs, and' he tells it Very house illumination.: sai adoption "of electricity for wet taking nto accom Testfaint which is necessarily. imlighting the coast of China ana Posed on oficial literney effort. On its outlying kalends it has not up to That nctount of course, it ie all the the present been found necessary to rect any large towers exposed dizectmore valuable and. authortaiv Ivo th ind it may Be said that, the steady Brogres i Improving ie ich Ching Const, one feature ing and. transporting' of "materials Impressed, too, by the thous!
native adhe ada hive been experien lighthouses Tot only does' the Marine Depart= comparable an regards the ducoly construction to the histovis towers Imont ette for the ships on the like "the Eddystone, Bell Rock, Eimeuly China. sens, bug also er-Wolf Rock, or Sherryvere have to be.
Here in Shanghai much attention the Saddles, and full defat has been drawa to the lighting of installation' at the North Saddle are. given, as well similar equipment at Canton.
In his narrative Mr. Banister' points out that before the Customs and Marine Department, under Sir ]Robert Hart, came into existence, aids to navigation on the coasts of China were few "and primitive. Lights were practically non-existent: hiy' the Chinese in thos days. There!
Tittie "doubt "that many" of the} tchtowers, "watch-houses 3
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.