The Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser. — 1880-10-05 (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England)

THE PROGRESS OF IRON SHIP BUILDING.  If there is one circumstance More than another that specially characterises the progress making in the shipbuilding industry in these latter days it is the enormous increase in the steamships that are devoted to mercantile purposes. Now-a-days there is nothing uncommon in the announcements appearing in the columns of the daily papers published in the great centres of the shipbuilding and marine engineering trades that a steamer of 4,000 tons or upwards has been launched. Fully twenty yi ars ago Mr. Biunel and Mr. Scott Russel built and eventually launched the Great Eastern. a vessel of such dimensions as have not again been equalled, notwithstanding the progress made since 11360 in the construction of vessels of iron; but the time which has since elapsed has satiefictorily shown that the ideas of those eminent men ere simply in advance of the time, and not crude and unworkable. About ten years ag3, when, with with one exception, there were no vessels afloat that exceeded 400 feet in length Mr. Robert Duncan, an eminent Clyde shipbuilder, designed the great shipbuilding works at Barrow-in-Furness, and he placed upon the plan two ships of 500 feet, receiving their m chinery at an 80-ton crane; and in doing so he thought he had provided for a considerable future. But in two or three years vessels of 400 feet were becoming common, and there were in progress on the Clyde and elsewhere vess4s approaching 500 feet. The 80-ton crane at Barrow was eventually built to carry 100 tons, and Mr. Duncan had seriously entered upon the designing of ocean steamers 500 feet long. He did not think they would he required immediately; but coming events do net cast very long shadows in these times, and, looking forward one generation, and estimating the future by the past, he did ,not think it problematic ii (writing 'lsar the end of 1812) that we should "see steamers of 800 feet long, the ferry boats of two oceans, with America for their central station, and Europe and Asia for their weekly t -rmini." Quite a number of steamers of from 400 to 600 feet are now being constructed. The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Compiny are building no fewer than eight steamers whose tonnage capacity ranges from 4,100 tons to 4,800 tons. Messrs. Elder and Co., who built the Arizona last year for the Guion Line, a vessel of 466 feet long, are now building a sister ship, the Alaska, which is to be 600 test long, and to have a carrying capacity ef 6,400 tons gross. They are also building two steamers of about 5.500 tons for the North German Lloyd's and the Orient Line. The Cunard Company are building a steamer of steel, which is as far ahead of their ship Gallia, built within the last two years, as the Gallia was in advance of the Bothnia, built in 1874; in short, they have in progress in Messrs. Thompson' 9 yard at Clydebank, a steel steamer, the Sends, 610 feet long, 50 feet broad, and 42 feet deep, with a cam ing capacity of 7.500 tons. Lastly, we would note the City of Rome, now building at Barrow-in-Furness. 600 feet over all, 52 feet 3 inches broad, and capable of carrying 8,000 tons gross. tluch a vessel will truly be a leviathan, and if she is not large enough for the Atlantic trade, a few years hence her builders will he able to lay down others up to 1,000 feet in length.  The schooner Curlew, of Aberdeen, was run down off Yarmouth, on Saturday, and the captain aucl four of the crew drowned It now appears that the report as to the discovery of another plot for destroying a mail train was muxh exaggerated in several particulars. MURDER AT GLossoe.—Albert Robinson murdered his wife, and afttrwards attempted to commit suicide, at Hadfield, near Glossop, on Saturday uight.