BY STEAM AND SAIL

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8338, 25 January 1913, Page 9

BY STEAM AND SAIL

“Tlio grarrulous sea is talking to tlio shore; let us go down and hear the graybearti’s speech.”

A start will shortly be made with the construction of a sister steamer to the Niagara, recently ordered by the Cniou Company to replace the Maraina in the Sydney-Vancouver service. Like the Niagara also, she will be adapted to burn either coal or oil in the boiler furnaces, and in view of the recent troubles on the New Zealand coast with the firemen, it is oretty safe to say that in future every new steamer will bo similarly equipped. In common with other big shipping concerns, tho Union Company’s directors have naturally devoted a good deal of attention to internal combustion engines of tho Diesel type, and it is quite possible that vessels of tho Jutlandia class may yet carry the familiar house flag of the lied Funnel fleet, but we arc informed that nothing definite has yet been decided upon.

Meanwhile, several large oil-engined vessels of 8000 tons are now in use in European waters, and several others are in course of construction. The Norddeutcher Lloyd Company, of Bremen, purchased one recently, and if the vessels of that class now in use come up to expectations it will not be long before they come into general use. With crude oil at the present prices ruling they can be run with marked efliciency and economy, but it is feared in some quarters that the price of crude oil may increase with the demand and thereby minimise the advantages that are now available for the oilengined vessel.

Judging by, the present signs, Clan steamers are going to play an important part in the transportation of wheat from the Commonwealth this season. At present one—tho Clan Macfiherson— is receiving a cargo at Walaroo, and another—the Clan Macfarlane—and about the time they were taken up for the business, or soon after, two more of the line were also secured. Since then on several occasions rumour has had it that two and three have been chartered for the same business simultaneously; but except in the instance mentioned, the names of the vessels have never leaked out. On the 6th instant, however, it transpired that two more had been definitely fixed —i. 0., the Clan Robertso; and Clan Macdonald —but where they are to receive tile cargoes has not been stated yet, and although fired some time since, the Clan Macpheo is in much the same position as regards outward loading.

For the purpose of strengthening the China Merchants’ Steam Navigation Company against the competition of other lines, it is understood that the Chinese Government proposes to come to its assistance by the grant of a subsidy, sufficient to bring the annual dividend up to 10 per cent, should the profits not be large enough. An alternative suggestion,' now under consideration, is that the authorities at Pekin should help the company by placing a higher tonnage tax on all ships flying foreign flags that are engaged in the coastal trade of China. Moreover, some special rights may also bo given to it, such, for instance, as the exclusive right to transport coal from Chinese mines and “ tribute rice.”

In this way the company’s business would be improved and extended. To assist the China Merchants’ Company in the oversea trade, it is suggested that four or six modern liners should be ordered abroad, one-fourth of the total cost to be paid when the contract is signed, one-fourth at the time of delivery, and the balance by five yearly instalments. In this connection, the first payment should be made by the Government, and returned by the company at the. end of ten years, while the vessels would be at the disposal of the army and navy authorities when required for transport purposes. The history of the famous old American schooner Polly is quite generally known, and whilo she is the oldest commercial vessel under the Stars and Stripes, there is another American schooner nearly as old, and that is the Hiram, built over ninety-seven years ago at Biddeford, Maine, and in almost continuous' active service ever since (says the “New York Marine Journal”), This vessel has been famous as a training school for young skippers, and for years she was used by masters on their first trips. From the Polly and Hiram to the big six-masted schooner 'Wyoming, the largest fore-and-after of the Main© fleet, covers practically the whole history of this type of vessel in the Pine Tree State, and which fleet is valued to-day at anywhere up to 50,000,000d015. The first schooner was built in 1745, and half a century later there were seventy schooners hailing from Maine engaged in the fishing industry. Another trade that these vessels were particularly adapted to was with the West Indies, and South America, and later with Africa. The three-masted schooner first appeared in 1831, and it was not until Juno, 1880, that the first four-master, the William 1.. White, made her appearance, In 1888 the first five-mas-ter, the Governor Ames, was launched. Her career was a short one, as she was lost off Hatteras in January, 1910, drowning every soul on hoard but one man. The first six-master, the George W. Wells ,' came out in 1900. Only oho seven-master was ever built, and that was the Thomas L. Lawson, built in 1902, and lost by turning turtle off the Sciily Islands in 1907. The chief value of the schooner-rig over the squarerigged ships is in the smaller number of men required to handle such. A four-masted schooner, for instance, usually has a crew of but eight men—the captain, two mates, an engineer to handle the machinery used in setting sail and handling cargo, and four sailors—-while the average crew of a square-rigger was twenty or twentyfive men.