The San Francisco call., 1898-02-16
NEWS OF FOREIGN NAMES.

The trials of cruiser Diadem of Il 900 tons are being watched with great inter est by navy people. She is one of a class of seven vessels building for the British navy and the interest centers in the out come of the trials of the improved Belle vile boilers with which she Is fitted and which differ somewhat in the number and size of tubes from those of the Powerful and Terrible. The ship underwent her thirty hours coal consumption trial un- der one-fifth power on January 21 and 22, during which she averaged 3315 horse power, 1274 knots and consumed 2.1S pounds of coal. The boilers. thirty in number, have 0,550 square feet of heating surface and 1460 square feet of grate, and the steam carried was 265 pounds, against 175 pounds as the maximum carried in cy- lindrical boilers. The other vessels of the same class and type are fitted with Scotch boilers. The full power and natural draught trials of the Diadem were to be proceeded with at once.
 A local naval reserve Is being projected at Hongkong. There will, however, be some difficulty in securing fighting ma terial, but it is proposed to obtain Chi nese as firemen their wages ranging per month from $l4 with food to SIS without food. There are about 1900 Chinese en- ployed by British shipping on the coast of China, and they are credited with being excellent in that line.
 English service journals express sur prise that the United States. should build a 16-inch gun weighing 126 tons, and point to the fact that such monster pieces have been discarded in Europe. The American gun Is intended for coast defense and is being made, probably, more to show that our gunmakers can produce heavier guns than Europe. It will be forty-nine feet long, and with a charge of 1000 pounds of powder will fire a 2OOO-pound projectile, and each round fired will cost about 5000. The eight 16-inch guns In the British navy, weighing 1O6 tons, are to be re- placed in the near future with 12-inch guns, which weigh only forty-five tons and cost only about s250 to fire. The 10 inch gun is, as matter of fact, preferred to any other, and in the German navy the caliber is as low as 9.4 inches. In the American navy the battle-ships now building are intended to carry 13-inch guns, which will be the largest caliber afioat of modern ordnance.
 The engines of the Petropolawsk, Rus. sian battle-ship, have been accepted, al. though they fell short 533 of the contract horsepower of 10,600. The full-power trial was the severest yet exacted in any navy,
  hours and worked right through without hitch and gave a speed of nearly IS knots. The Petropolawsk Is of 10 ,960 tons, with 15S-inch armor belt 31a-inch pro- tective deck and carries four 12-inch guns in two 10-inch casemates and twelve G. inch quick-fring guns. eight of which are in small turrets and four on the main deck in 3-inch casemates. The ship has also six torpedo tubes.
 Brazil has transferred it's contracts in England and France for two armored vessels and three cruisers to a foreign government, presumably Japan. The low state of Brazilian finances Is assigned as reason for abandoning for the present the projected navy increase.
 The Hai-chi, cruiser of 4300 tons, built for China, was launched from the yard of the Armstrong Company, Elswick, Janu- ary 24. She is 396 feet in length, AZ feet beam and is guaranteed to make speed of A knots.