Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1901. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 27 September 1901, Page 2

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1901. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

For many months past the strength of Britain’s Mediterranean fleet has been eagerly canvassed by the Home press. It has been laid down as a rule that the British Navy in all parts of the world should be sufficient to cope with the combined navies of any other two powers. In the Mediterranean this does not appear to be the case, And a telegram the other day informed us that the battleship Formidable had been sent to reinforce this fleet which is looked on, next to the Channel fleet, as the most important. The present Mediterranean fleet comprises 12 battleships, 8 cruisers, 15 torpedoboat destroyers, 3 torpedo boats, 3 gunboats, and several smaller vessels. The Formidable is a first-class battleship with a displacement of 15,000 tons, length 400 ft, beam 75ft, mean draught 26ft 9in, and with a speed of 18 knots. The armament consists of four 12in breech-loading and twelve Gin- quick-firing guns. The Formidable was laid down in 1898, and launched in an incomplete state in order to make room on the slips for the building of three sister vessels. Her cost was £1,012,780. Late English papers state that a number of 80knot destroyers were to be sent to strengthen the Mediterranean Fleet, immediately the naval manoeuvres ended On August 14th the destroyers Desperate and Cynthia were to be commissioned at Chatman and sent to act as tenders to the battleships Hood and Ramifies, and on August ‘l4th at Portsmouth the destroyers Myrmidon and Kangaroo were to be commissioned as tenders to the battleships Empress of India (or the Implacable) and Crcsar on the Mediterranean station.

In the annual Mines’ Report a good deal of attention is bestowed on the dredging industries ; its possibilities, its drawbacks, and the cause of partial failure in some instances. The head of the department says that while the golden promises held out by unscrupulous and non-practical speculators during the dredging “boom” have not been fulfilled, the failure docs not lie with the riverbed and beach deposits of the West Coast. The experts assure us that the gold is there, and that if the proper appliances were used it could be secured. The necessity for dredges being designed to suit the class of ground they have to work is becoming more fully recognised, but, according to the inspecting engineer, there is still room for improvement in this direction, both in structural design and methods of gold-saving. As he points out, it is quite possible that claims worked on by obsolete and unsuitable machines may be pronounced

“ duffer ground ” when the real reason of the claim being unprofitable lies in the dredge itself. Even in the case of dredges that are paying their way, the gold yield might bo much enhanced if proper steps were taken to cope with the heavy and deep character of the ground, and to save efficiently the fine gold common in our submerged alluvial deposits. In this respect our most modern and up-to-date dredges cannot, wo are told, bo considerably really effective, owing to the frequent breakage of machinery and leakage of pontoons. A more thorough system of prospecting is necessary prior to the designing of the dredge, and more experimenting to ascertain the host methods of saving the finer gold. With the improvement of the dredges there is every reason to expect a corresponding increase in the gold returns.

The Investors’ Review (London), at no time too favourable in its criticisms of anything Australian, has again a good word for the A.M.P. Society. Its issue of Juno last has the following The Australian Mutual Provident Society is the most powerful of all the the Australian Life Office, did a lino business in 1900. According to the Directors’ Report, 16,591 policies were issued, insuring £4,178,656, and the now premium income was £208,752, of which £68,795 was single payments. Claims came to £527,648, including £140,817 in bonus additions. These items are exclusive of endowment assurance, which matured to the amount of £266,580, including £81,905 of bonus additions. Expenses and commission, according to our reckoning, which leaves out taxes of all descriptions, came to less than 18 per cent of the premium income, and if wo include these taxes and some other items which seem to be of the character of recurring outlay to about 18£ per cent, quite a low proportion for a colonial office, and one that must give the Society great strength. Its accumulated funds increased by £955,104, and now amount to £17,029,845. The actuary’s report showed a cash surplus of funds over, liabilities, including special reserves, amounting to £642,895, and accordingly the Board has decided to allot £537,895 of this for distribution amongst the members, the sum being sufficient to provide reversionary bonuses of about £1 000,000. All this is highly satisfactory, and we have no criticism to offer.