Connecticut western news., 1889-10-09
WASHINGTON,

The International Marine Conference, which meets on the 18th inst, has been some what overshadowed in popular interest by the Congress of the three Americas, but it's immediate results are likely to be quite as important to the security of our merchant marine if not to the extension of our trade. There will be some fifty delegates in attend ance and twenty-three countries have already indicated their acceptance of the invitations issued by the State Department. The con- ference will expire by January 1, and will probably be ill session nearly every day un- til then. The chief object is to secure inn provements in signalling and policing the sea which shall bring greater safety to naviga- ton.
 The American delegates, who now number seven, held several meetings in the spring and agreed upon programme of suggestions. Rear Admiral s. R. Franklin is the president of the American delegation, and by inter- national courtesy he will naturally be the president of the Conference. There will probably be several secretaries, but most of the real work will be done by the American secretary, who will be young naval officer vitation of the State Department to send del egates are the following:
 In Europe-Great Britain, France, Ger many, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, swe- den and Norway. Denmark, Russia, Austro-
 In America-Brazil. Chii, Venezuela, Uruguay. Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico.
 In Asia-China, Japan and Hawaii.
 At the preliminary meeting of the Ameri- can delegates the subjects for discussion were classified in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress, under the following general divisions:-
 1. Marine signals or other means of plainly indicating the direction in which vessels are moving in fog, mist, falling snow and thick weather, and at night rules for the preven- tion of collisions and rules of the road.
 3. Regulations to determine the seaworthi- ness of vessels.
 3. Draught to which vessels should be re- stricted when loaded.
 4. Uniform regulations regarding the des- ignating and marking of vessels.
 3. Saving life and property from ship wreck.
 6. Necessary qualifications for officers and seamen, including tests for sight and color blindness.
 :. Lanes for steamers on frequented routes.
 8. Night signals for communicating infor- nation at sea.
 9. Warnings of approaching storms.
 10. Reporting, marking and removing dan- gerOus Wrecks and Instructions to naviga- ti0n.
 II. Notice of dangers to navigation; no- tice of changes in lights, buoys and other day and night marks.
 12. A uniform system of buoys and bea- cons.
 13. The establishment of permanent in- ternational maritime commission. The Department of State has received no further information concerning the recent riots on the Island of Navassa ill the Carri- bean Sea. Judge Bond, of the Circuit Court, at Baltimore recently certified to President Harrison the facts in the case of the negroes concerned in the murders. It is thought that as soon as the President receives the state mcnt he will refer it to the Attorney-G General for an opinion as to the question of the jurisdiction of the United States over the island.
 MT. Theodore Roosevelt of the Civil Ser vice Commission, has submitted to the full commission a report of 8 short examination made by him some two months ago into the management of the Baltimore (NId.) Post Office in so far as it Is affected by the Civil Service law. He finds that the postmaster during his year of office removed eighty per | cent. of the employees and that campaign assessments at election time were almost uni. versal.
 It is understood that the Swiss government has made alI apology to United States Minis. ter Washburne for the indgnity offered to MT. Charles E. Coates of Baltimore, who l while travelling in Switzerland last summer 1 was arrested and confined ill filthy and dark cell without any charge having been preferred l against him.