The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-01-30
THE MARITIME WORLD.
Mars of Interest to Commercial
and Shipping Men.

! | Mars or interest 20 commercial
and Shipping Men
Ahe New York maritime exchange re-
carr there wss exhibited a new and ingen-
ioT instrument for communicating code
/ 81 As or readable sentences at nigat be-
ten vessels at sea. It is named the luci-
eph, and in g common way may be said
represent a combination of q magic LAM
N aud the keyboard of a typewriter.
18th flftesn~candle power from the light
, q kerosene lamp letters and numbers eau
shown upon an elevated canvas screen or
ther fiat surface OH board of q ship and
made discernSble for long distance with
out aid Of glass. 1t is also adaptable to
shore service in certain times Of danger, as
Lighthouses and beach stations can by its
use give warning to mot trust 10 boats. /"
and similar instructions. The patent is a
British one.
Both Houses of the North Carolina legis-
lature have passed an oyster bill, and Gov.
Fowlo has taken prompt steps looking to
its vigorous enforcement An armed cruiser
will be sent to the oyster grounds to drive
off all Jrespassers. The bill as passed gives
the governor power to call out the entire
state militia. and to call upon the treasurer
TO pay the expenses of the same. 1t is also
ma lie unlawful to catch oysters from any
OF the public grounds or natural oyster
beds # North Carolina with dredge, drag,
scoop Or patent tongs, except such tongs as
are worked by hand. The penalty for so
doing is from 81 900 to 5000 or imprison-
meat from ore to five years, or both. An
amendment was offered to the bill in the
Senate 70 allow the use Of dredges by ma
tive North Carolinians engaged in the can
ming industry, but, after heated discussion,
this was defeated. and it is claimed by the
advocates OF the amendment. who are inter
ested in the canneries, that this will break
up their business entirely and throw thou
sands Of hands out OF employment IN conse-
quence.
1.-THE House Of Representatives" says The
Ne1U York Maritime Register, has Just
passed the bill introduced a year ago to
govern the changing of vessels names.
According to this measure vessels that have
had accidents affective to the public, or
been burnt, sunk or abandoned as wre ks,
and such as have not been inspected nor
classed III an American registry for
marine insurance, and those once classed
that have lost their rating or mad it sus-
pended, and all that shall be rated below
the grade Of Az by the Record Of American
and Foreign Shipping, or the Inland Lloyd's
Register OF lake vessels, or fail to be worthy
of such grade, shall not be allowed change
Of name. Vessels and boats of past and
present good character and rating, sea-
and whose owners shall offer substantial
and satisfactory reason therefor, may have
their names changed by the commissioner
of navigation, but all new names given must
be unlike those of any vessel sailing from
the same port"
"The capacity Of the vessels launched
from the shipyards of the United Kingdom
last year. says the Chicago Herald, twas
1902, 055 gross tons. against 1.345.515 gross
tons in 1889, making q total Of 2, 647 $40
tons in two years. This construction was
greater than ever before in the same length
of time. That it was III excess Of the de-
mand for shipping can not be doubted in
the light OF the facts. The construction
last year included vessels with an aggregate
capacity of nearly 100000 tons which
were on the stocks at the end of 1899, and
which had been ordered when freights and
prices of ships were much higher than they
were last year. New orders last year
were comparatively few. and many build
ers built on their own account rather than
have their plants lie idle. Thus nearly all
the work Of last year consisted in finishing
ships previously ordered and in building on
speculation, and there was almost no de-
mand for new construction. Builders who
were getting $45 to $50 per ton for con-
struction on previous orders could get no
more than $S5 per ton during the latter part
of last year. These facts. with the fact that
the number of ships laid up in British har-
borS for want of business is constantly in
creasing, show Enthusiastically that there is no
present demand for the increase of ship
ping, and that this is a most unfavorable
time for new VeutIlresn