SAN FRANCISCO MAIL NEWS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11493, 28 January 1903, Page 9

SAN FRANCISCO MAIL NEWS.

[Br Telegraph.]

(Per e.s. Sonoma at Auckland.) i4A2f FRANCISCO, Januury 8. SUCCESSFUL CABLE TESTS. Daring the night of January Ist San jijjnciaco was sending messages to and retiring answers from Honolulu. The ship Sflvertown encountered severe storms on trip down, but was very successful in laying the cable. -is soon as the connections with the land cable were comBleted messages from Governor Dole w«ie -jWWMded. Tha Governor sent the greettogi ©f the islandei-s tu> President Roosevelt, and the mts.s-a.ge was acknowledged .-.t the Executive .Mansion, Washington, exactly thirteen minutes after leaving HonoJeb'. Tne distance traversed during that time was mare than 2600 milee under the Kβ, and more than over 'mountains, ffimns, and bio;i-d lively. Mr Harrington, superintendent at >nu Franei*co. viand that it was very rare for instruments to urork so perfectly at the first trial, as they finally required Koine adjusting. Tile messages from Honolulu told of tlit- gia-ti-litatitiU of the people «if the i>hu:d because vi tho connection with the mainland, 'ihe Hawaiiaiis forgot their pride in romantic iiuUtioji, and rejoiced at. the opening of new poseioilUies for commercial and industrial development. 1 GIGANTIC RAILWAY UNDER-TAKt-vvi. Sir K. L. Hemingway, of Montreal, who ia iDterestfcd in the proposed extension of tihe Grand Trunk Ruilway acrtws Canada, il vkiting California. Regarding the projecttd tnterpriee, lie said: —"The vice-pre-sident and general manager of the urand Trunk will have much to say in the councils of the new company, which is to conetruct au extension costing fully oiw hundred million dollars, and taking live rears to build. In a general way it can be stated that the route of the new road will be two hundred miles north of the Canadian Pacific line, tuid will traverse the provinces and districts of Ontario, Kceirmtin, aiaaitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Athabaskai, and British Columbia. Numerous surveying parties are already in the field, and there is no question as to tli« ikiiui eu-ecessful outcome of this great Undertaking. The general manager figure out that the new road willireduce the travelling distance from Yokohama to Liverpool fifteen hundred miles. The Grand Trunk and its Pacific Coaet extension will fcuiki wt-eauaships to run in connection with it «a both the Atlantic end Pacific Oceans. A DASH FOR THE POLE. A despatch from Winnipeg (Mun.), dated Januajy 3rd, says: —" Captain Bernier, Canadian explorer, is satisfied lie ■Will reach the North Pole. Mr Arthur Steyr is now in the North Land of middle Canada securing dog drivers, who will have charge of Bernier'e carrying outfit. Mr Steyr is a man known from one ena of Canada to the other as interpreter andtraveller, and yearn of his life have been •pent in the North and South. Hi« only compeaions were a couple of Esquimaux and a half wolf dog, that takes the place of beaeta of burden in the Arctic. He id a Dominion Government surveyor, nnd played an important part in the Alaska boundary dispute. He understands travelling on the ice thoroughly. 'Good dog drivers axe more than half the secret,' he ■aid to iv press representative. ' The best w« have come from the barren lands of yorthem Canada. The Arctic ice floes ore all hummocks, and travelling is of the roughest description, but it can be safely ■aid that the difficulties do not exceed ' those of the Canadian barren lands, where a piece of level travelling, broad aa your hand, fa herd to find. The driven lam after are men who know how to get the nwet travelling out of dogs on the least food, how to keep them in good condition, end 'bow to keep them from injury and fatig\ie.'" Mr Steyr wholly disbelieves in killing doge and feeding them to their companion*, aa hoe been done on previous eipeditione. A big dash for the Pole wtll be made with these expert dog drivers, and Mr Steyr i» confident of success. He left to-day for Norway house and other Hudson Buy Company's poets, to get his Hwn. of that country are chiefly half-breed , Cree and Chippewayan Indians, of Scotch and Orkney extraction, broad-chested athletes, to whom hardships and expoeure are the bread of life. GREAT BBJTAIS'S COMPETITORS. LONDON, January 6. At the annual meeting to-day of the Aβ■ocdatioti of Technical Institute*, the new vrarident, Sk John Wolfe Barry, the well tawwa engineer, in his addt«Hti, once more inw attention to the striking lack of •otentiflc menial equipment in Great Britain as compared with her two great eotnpetdton, United States ami Germany. H* pointed oat that beside* the superior natural advantages already possessed by the United States, the advantages are enkanmd by ttnlted States' boundless wealth, while "United States and Great Britain* other competitors have the addittoeal advantage of protection, making Hi* home market safe from foreign competition, so they could afford to cut under foreign Market*. Another important influence against Great Britain was standardiaatkm. which, before the year closed, however, would be adopted by all the important engineering trades in Great Britain. EXPLOSION ON A STEAMER. J. despatch from Tacomba, dated Dewmber 20th* *aye:—Oriental advioee give detail* of a terrifio explosion which •wrecked the »hip Geneffe at Palwnburg, n*ar Singapore eeveral weeks ago. The Cknefie was discharging a cargo of benzine, when the delivery hose buret. The benzine, driven by a powerful pump, overflowed the deck, and ran into the galley, ■where it caught fire. The entire ship was inetantlv enveloped in roaring flames. Moat of the crew leaped overboard. A haweer was made fast from a tug, which commenced to tow the burning vessel into midstream. Then came an appalling exploejon. which shook the entire town, and wnnpletelv blew up the GenefiVa decke. Burning benzine escaped from the tanks and .blazed upon the water around the doomed ship, burning to death Captain Walker and members of the- crew, who remained with liim. A mass of flames rose fully two hundred feet into the air below the Geneffe. foundered, tlie whole occurrence lasting not over fift<?en minute*.