SPAIN'S COAL SUPPLY.

Evening Post, Volume LV, Issue 102, 2 May 1898, Page 5

SPAIN'S COAL SUPPLY.

A HUGE STOCK LAID IN BEFORE THE WAR BEGAN. (Received May 2, 9.40 a.m.) London, Ist May. The Gibraltar correspondent of The Times states that Spain obtained delivery of 170,000 tons of coal before the commencement of the war. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. AN AMERICAN YACHT CHASED INTO A FRENCH PORT. (Received May 2, 9.40 a.m.) London, Ist May. Mr. James Gordon Bennett's yacht 'Namcuua has taken refuge at St. Tropez, on the Mediterranean coadt of France, to the east of

Toulon, after being chased by Spanish cruisers. The British authorities have seized ten tons of cartridges from a vessel about to leave the Thames for Cuba. Hongkong, 30th April. The Hongkong banks have chartered steamers to rescue the specie belonging to them at present held by the Manila banks. THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE. Dunedin, This Day. Mr. Mills, Managing Director of the Union Steam Ship Company, received on Saturday a cable message from Messrs. Spreckles stating that the San Francisco mail boats were not likely to be interfered with by^Spanish cruisers. THE PRICE OF KEROSENE. Dunedin, This Day. In the local market the top price for kerosene for the past fortnight has been 11s 4d per case, and the lowest price 10s. THE FORTIFICATIONS OF HAVANA. In view of the probability of an early attack upon Havana, the following particulars of the fortifications of the city, given by an American paper, will be of interest :— In the old days Havaua claimed, and with justice, to be one of the most strongly fortified ports in the world, but the advances made in guns and gunnery have changed all that. Now the defences of the city are chiefly interesting because of their antiquarian character and picturesque aspect. The famous Morro Castle and the fortress of La Cabana, both magnificent to gaze upon, and of old deemed impregnable, are now useful for little else except to look at and to serve as prisons. Their armament is autiquated, and their massive walls of masonry must soon crumble before the fire of modern artillery. Of the same order is the' quaint old Castillo de La Puuta. ' Most formidable of all the modern defensive works of Havana is the great sand battery at Playa del Chivo, on the sea coast, about three-quarters of a mile to the eastward qf the Morro. The battery mounts two magnificent 12-in Krupp rifles, which, however, are destitute of all protection, save what is afforded by a broad but very low parapet of sand. Half a mile further to the eastward is an unfinished battery of similar construction, mounting four 8-in guns and a few small mortars. Both these batteries could be readily taken in flank and carried by troops landed in the unprotected little haven at [ Cojiinar, three, miles to the eastward of Havana. On the heights in the rear of the first battery are several large powder magazines, completely exposed to the fire of the ships. To the westward of the harbour lies a chain of batteries, extending from La Punta all the way along the shore to the mouth of the Almendares River, where there is another sheltered landing place with no other defence than the ancient castle of Carmelo, erected in 1509, the oldest building of European construction in the New World. A force landed here could proceed along the shore road under cover of the guns of the fleet and march into the city, carrying one battery after the other on the way. Of this range of works, the first, beginning at the eastward, is the Seina battery, a stone structure not unlike Castle "William, U.S.A., and, like it, armed with a few antique pieces of ordnance. Next to it, and within the outskirts of the city, is the Santa Clara battery, an earthwork which ranks next in importance to the big Playa del Chivo battery. It mounts three old style 10-inch Ordonez guns. These latter were built in Spain on a S3 - stem that has nothing to recommend it beyond cheapness of construction, consisting as they do of a steel tube reinforced, inci'edible as it may seem, with nothing better than a cast-iron jacket. Within a stone's throw of Santa Clara is a little masonry battery, mounting four breechloadiqg mortars of only 8-inch calibre. The battery is of such light construction as to offer only a trifling protection to the guns. Further westward, at the foot of H. street, in the suburb of Velado, is another battery mounting two 10-inch and two 6inch modern rifles. The main defences of the city against land attack are the antique castles of Atares and Principe, in the latter of Avhich is a small battery of modern mortars, whose fire is capable of being directed seaward. AMERICAN AND SPANISH ARMS. The American naval rifle is of '236 inch calibre, throwing a bullet of 135gr, and burns rifleite. The army rifle is the Murfrid Krag-Jorgensen of 1892, 03 inch calibre, throwing a bullet of 220gr, and burns the Leonard powder. Both have magazine attachment. This weapon is certain not to have been issued to the 400,000 militia:men, some of whom have got the model 1884 Spriugfield. The American rifle factories are numerous and can maike an enormous output, as their plant is very good, but it is not known how far it is adapted to turning •ut the Krag- Jorgensen rifle. The rifle of the Spanish army is the Mauser, model 1892, 0276 inch calibre, bullet 245gr, and burns 37'7gr of smokeless powder ; the knife bayonet is fitted ; the magazine holds five rounds. As the native factories could not make the rifles quickly enough on rearmament, some 200,000 were ordered from Germany. CONTRABAND NEWCASTLE COAL. In view of the declaration of war between the United States and Spain, and the fact that coal is a contraband commodity, it is interesting to note (says a Sydney paper) that there are at present on the high seas, carrying coal cargoes, a total of 20 vessels, bound from Newcastle to United States ports — that is, after allowing that all vessels which left this side more than 65 days ago, and averaged fast passages, have already reached their destinations. Of them, 18 are bound for San Francisco, and two for San Diego. The aggregate weight of their cargoes is 53,077 tons. In addition, there are a number of vessels now in port at Newcastle loading and to load for 'Frisco, while several American ships are abroad with coal for other foreign ports. On the othej hand, the steamer Gulf of Martabau, with 2784 tons of coal, appears to be the only possible vessel afloat carrying Newcastle coal for a Spanish port, she having left on 22nd March for Manila. The ship Fort Stuart is, however, in the harbour, loading for that destination. The Telegraph Department advises us that messages for Cuba via Key West or Galveston are subject to censorship. The best route to Cuba is via Halifax and Bermuda. The provisional rates are — Santiago, Caimenera, and Guantanamo, 4s more than the rate to Europe plus the usual extra charge for the latter two places ; all other places 4s 9d ; via Pernambuco and Valparaiso to Havana, 12s 8d ; Cienf uegos, 13s 6d ; Santiago 14s 9d more than the rate to Europe — also provisional. A message from the International Telegraph Centre at Berne states that the prohibition of all telegrams in cipher or secret language via Key West does not affect official telegrams addressed to bonafide agents of neutral States. Such telegrams are accepted. All telegrams must be written in clear language. Telegrams having an obscure meaning will be detained and submitted to the censor.