The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-06-15
NEWS NOTES OF
FOREIGN NAVIRS.

Vies, ranging from 300 20 2-"J tons.
and also two torpedo-boat dest-oyers
Of $50 tons each for the British navy.
The japanese torpedo-boat destroy
er, ShinOneme, built by ThorneyCroft
left Falmouth, England. on February
nth for Japan, and arrived u; NCk =
hama, April 18th. making the trip In
fifty-seven days. which IS good time
for vessel OF 275 tons and machinery
of delicate construction. The ,aptair
pronounced the Shinonems as q good
sea boat
The remnants CT the Spanish feet
in Cuban waters have reached Cadiz.
Three gunboats. the Filipiuas. Gllicil
and Diego Velasquez. were left at Mar
Unique as unserviceable and only sew
en- of the fifty-two gunboats ara other
small war vessels which constituted
the Spanish fleet in the West indies
one year age have been saved out OF
the general wreck and retained 20
Spain.
The British navy will be largely in
creased during the present fiscal year
ending March 81. 1900. There will be
half dozen launches OF battleships
and other large vessels. and in the
same period about fifty war vessels OF
different types will pass through the
completing stage and enter into the re-
serve, ready to 20 into commission.
Among these additions TO the active
list are five battleships of 1880 tons
each of the Albion class; fourteen pro-
tected cruisers, ant thirty-one unpro-
tected ships. including sloops. gun
boats and torpedo boat destroyers.
These fifty vessels have an aggregate
tonnage of 1850. carry 235 guns OF
six inches and upward. and coo smaller
guns. Their complement of officers
and crew numbers IL. $50. equal to- the
entire United States navy personnel OF
ten years ago.
The Jurien de Ia Graviere. a first
class cruiser of 5i13 tons. 17.iOO horse
power and an intended speed OF TWEEN
ty-three knots. is to be launched some
time next July at rOrient dockyard.
She was begun in October. 1896. and is
not expected to be completed before
1901.
1T will require three to- four months
to- put the British cruiser Terrible in
seagoing condition after her recent .eX-
perience with burst boiler tubes. Ev-
cry tube in her forty-eight boilers
will be subjected to a critical exam
ination, and all the welded ones will
be removed. 1t is authoritatively
stated that the tubes clogged from the
use of salt water. and the admiralty
has ordered that only fresh water is
henceforth To be useG in water-tube
boilers.
The Naval Cadet College NJ s.. Pc
tersburg will celebrate its two hun
dredth anniversary on August 18th
next. II was established 10y Peter the
Great. who induced Professor Farqu-
harson, of Aberdeen University. TO
start the new institution. Farquhar-
son was a distinguished mathemati-
elan, and knew also a good deal OF
navigation. and he induced two other
Scotchmen OF learning. Stephen GwyeT
and Richard Cries. to Join their for
tunes with his in the land OF the Mus
covites.
An invention OF dubious practical
value was recently presented and ex-
planned before the Society OF Engi-
neers' meeting at St. Petersburg. Il
is a contrivance to automatically re-
veal leak on board ship. and con
sists of cage located in the hold. the
cage containing a lever with counter
balancing weight. The presence o.
water disturbs the balance and brings
the lever in contact with an electric
system which then lights a lamp in
that part of the ship where the leak Is.
and rings bell. The Russian Admi-
rally has ordered two OF these leak
revealers" to be placed on board the
General Apraksin for experimental
purposes. Some twenty-five years ago
an invention in the line OF automatic
work was unloaded on our Navy De
partrhent. II was an automatic alarm
pump and ventilator. one placed on
each side OF the ship. and the rolling
motion OF the vessel was to furnish
/ the power TO the contrivance for Ven
tilating or pumping purposes. Il fail
/ ed 10 work in practice. but several
! sets out OF forty-seven purchased were
sent to Mare Island with an order to
place them aboard ship. The order
was obeyed to this extent that the
boxes containing the pumping mech
anism were put on board some OF the
ships. The Saranac carried her auto
matte alarm. ventilating and pumping