The San Francisco call., 1898-03-09
NEWS OF FOREIGN NAMES.

There were 15S court-martials in the British navy in 1896 on bluejackets and marines afioat and 22S court-martials on marines ashore, making a total Of 3So court-martials for 491 offenses. The strength was v 300, making one man tried out of every 200 In the United States navy the mean strength during 1896 was 12 300 and there were 147 court-martialS, giving a ratio of one trial to S5 men. Of the court-martialS in our navy l0l were of the seamen class, of which the mean strength was 10000, and forty-s1X marines, of which there were 2500 The relative proportion of trials of the two branches were one to ninety-nine in the seamen class and one to fifty-four in the marine corps. The latter service is inn proving every year if the diminishing number of court-martials Is an indication to that effect. It will be observed that in the British navy there were 22S marines at shore stations, the mean strength not exceeding 6200, which would make one out of twenty-seven men tried, or just twice the number in our marine corps.
 The British cruiser-Diadem is still going through a series of trials to determine the coal consumption at certain speeds with given number of boilers in use. Each trial Is of fifteen hours duration and has given satisfactory economic results from the WaIeT-tuDS DOlIeTSs Nili SlElil DOAlCi ., -iV pounds of steam and sixty-five revolu- tions, 3266 horsepower were developed on a consumption of 235 pounds of coal per horsepower. With sixteen boilers, 260 pounds of steam and S9 revolutions the horsepower was 7119 and the coal used 194 pounds. The latest trial with twenty four boilers, carrying 265 pounds of steam, resulted in 107 revolutions, 12,S52 horse power on 1SS pounds of coal. This last trial lasted through thirty hours and the speed taken by land marks, showed an average of twenty knots during nearly eleven hours.
 The launch of one of the cruisers built at Stettin last December was not sue cess The vessel was to be launched De- cember II, and high Chinese dignitaries and others were on hand to witness the affair but the vessel refused to move on tine During the first half hour the ship moved only one yard and when darkness set in she had progressed about thirty five feet. It took several days to effect the launch, and involved considerable ex- pense, nor had it at last accounts been ascertained if the ship had sustained any damage.
 The Japanese battle-ship Shikishiwa, building at the Thames Iron Works, Lon don, will be forty eight feet longer than the Majestic class of six in the British navy The horsepower will be 4,5O0, against 12,OOO of the Majestic, and the main armament will consist of four 12- inch and fourteen quick-tring 6-inch guns, which exceeds the British battle-ship ar mament by two 6-inch guns.
 Twelve sailors were drowned in the har bor of Kiel on the night of February 5. They were crossing from the navy yard over to the town in steam launch when a heavy sea boarded and sunk the launch. The sailors, heavily clothed and armed, went down with the boat.
 The French naval estimates, as finally passed by the Chamber, authorize the construction of one battle-ship of the Jena type, of 12 900 tons; three armored cruisers of 9500 tons each, and eleven tor pedo-boatS
 With the Victorious, Bardeur and Gib- raltar added to the ships now in the British squadron in Chinese waters. Eng lands navy will exceed those of France and Russia together by 25, ,000 tons.
 The torpedo-boat destroyer Violet made an average speed of thirty knots an hour