The San Francisco call., 1898-05-23
NEWS OF FOREIGN NAMES.

NEWS OF FOREIGN NAMES.
 The Chilean battleship O'Higgins, built at Elswick, passed through her final twen- ty-four hours trial last month off the mouth of the Tyne, and should by this time be on its way to Valparaiso.
 Don Carlos I, a protected cruiser of 400 tons, built for Portugal, was launched at Elswick May g. She is to have speed of twenty-two knots under forced draught, and twenty knots under natural draught, and has a coal bunker capacity of 1000 tons.
 Italy has a good opportunity of keep ing its navy up to date, for 1t has sold several vessels to Spain and other coun- tries as badly in need of ships as Italy has been of cash. It is now proposed to build three battleships of 13.000 tons em- bodying all the latest improvements In warships.
 The British torpedo boat destroyer Hun ter, while leaving Dover, collided with brig and returned to port to ascertain what damage had been sustained, and it was found that the stern had been bent to starboard, and that the forward com partment was leaking. The damage was not considered serious enough to delay her trip to Portsmouth dockyard, which
 
 a half hours, 2 very creditable perform ance under such unfavorable conditions.
 European naval authorities have some doubts about the Russian naval estimated expenditures on the navy, and incline to the belief that the stated sum of S64 900 900 for shipbuildng will actually reach nearer $1O0 900 900. The ships at present under construction in Russia include seven bat tleships, one armored cruiser, one coast defense vessel, four protected cruisers, three gunboats, seventeen torpedo boat destroyers and ten torpedo boats. The new programme covers three battleships of about 1900 tons each, and twelve tor pedo boat destroyers of the Lokol type, besides other vessels not yet made pub- lie.
 London papers allege that Spain has leased submarine vessel invented by Count PozZo and built in France last year. It is described as a steel sphere of feet inches diameter propelled by electricity at a speed of to g knots an hour. She carries supply of compressed air sufficient for three men in forty-eight hours From the front of the vessel pro- trudes a strong grappling arm which is capable of severing anchor cables and connections of submarine mines. She can also lay mines and discharge them af- ter retiring to safe distance. Further more, this wonderful craft can be con- nected with the deck of a vessel and thus pilot warship through mined waters. The probability Is strong that this for midable prowler on the ocean bed exists only in the imagination of an active brain- ed writer of the Dan de Guile and Hull type. There is no record In the scientific papers of this country of such an inven- tion, and the nearest approach to this submarine vessel are the boats of Peral in Spain, Goubet in France and the Hol- land boat in this country, none of which have as yet demonstrated their ability to do what their inventors claimed for these boats
 A claim for commission of $620,000 was instituted in London, April N, by Henry Isaacs against Armstrong, Whit worth & Co., of Elswick. Henry Isaacs had contract with the Spanish Govern ment by which he was to receive per cent commission on the contracts for bat tleships, gunboats, etc, to be built by the Armstrong Company, and also 5 per cent on the contract for the armament of these vessels. Isaacs claimed that he had per formed his part of the agreement, and also that the Government of Spain was willing to pay, but that the Armstrong Company had prevented the contract be- ing entered into on the terms arranged In the negotiations, and thereby deprived him of his commission. In fact, know ing that the commission would be pay able, they had purposeiy let tho contract go off. Lords Justices Smith and Chitty dismissed the application with costs. The Armstrong Company were probably too shrewd business men to pay $640,0 cash for a SIP 400, 900 contract with a customer like Spain. MT. Isaacs would have pock- eted his commission, but Armstrong's would have had lot of warships and guns on their hands which they could not deliver, for the sentiment of the British Government has changed since 1862, and the Alabama awards of $15, 900 900 paid by that country for the depredations of Con- federate cruisers, built and fitted out In England, was too costly an experiment to be repeated during the present war between the United States and Spain.