SHIPS AND THE SEA. ENGLISH-CANADIAN TRADE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 144, 19 June 1909, Page 12

SHIPS AND THE SEA. ENGLISH-CANADIAN TRADE.

The situation in the passenger steamship trade between Great Britain and Canada is just now particularly interesting. The entry of the White Star Line into the business affords clear proof that great developments are afoot. The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Company has denied that it is forming a company, jointly with the White Star Line, for the conduct of through railway and steamship services between Great Britain and the Far East by way of Canada, ] but the fact that the two organisations , are likely- to co-operate has in no way > been denied. Whatever may happen, it ' is perfectly clear that the CanadianPacific Railway Company will in the near future have to meet the opposition ■ of a powerful competitor, which must have steamship connections at either end of its transcontinental line. Tho future steamship fleet of tho Canadian Pacific Company has been the subject of discussion for a considerable time past. At one period it was stated that it was a question whether new boats would be built to replace the Empresses which have done such good work on the Pacific, or whether the two newer Empresses which have gained high favour on the Atlantic would take up some of their work. In that event*, of course, it would be necessary to build new steamers for the Atlantic. The lasfcmentionod programme is, it is believed, the one which will be carried out. Indeed, it is stated that plans for the new Atlantic Empresses have not only been under consideration, but that their construction will shortly be put in hand. Rumour says they will be 20-knot boats, and that they will be -propelled by a combination of reciprocating engines and turbines. But rumour is not always correct, although it is probably justified in assuming that the steamers will have superior speed. If the Grand Trunk is able to cut down the Pacific passage owing to the northerly location of its Pacific coast port, the Canadian Pacific ! Railway may well -»vish to reduce the time of the Atlantic voyage. What with the new White Star boats, new steamers in prospect for the Canadian Pacific Hailway Company, and the excellent turbine liners of the Allan Line, it may be safely predicted that Canada in the near future will be remarkably well off for direct steamer communication with England. COLOUR-BLINDNESS. Safety of navigation at night time obviously depends to a large extent upon the ability of the mariner to distinguish the,, colours of lights. Consequently, it is a requirement of the Board of Trade that officers of the mercantile marine shall be tested with reference to their colour vision. A curious case, illustrating the difficulty of satisfactorily carrying out these examinations, has just occurred in London. The second mate of a steamer, who had previously passed the test, desired to obtain a first mate's certificate, and on being re-examined was declared to be visually defective. He appealed to the Board of Trade, who invited the candidate to submit himself to two other examiners. They also refused to pass hjtn, one of them 6aying that he was congenitally deficient in colour vision. The matter next went to the London Local Marine Board, before whom a distinguished pathologist averred that tho man's eyesight was such that he was competent to fill any post in the mercantile marine. The members of tho board, after themselves making an examination % of the candidate's colour vision, came to the same conclusion, and the officer's certificate was returned to him accordingly. The case has created a great deal of interest. Sou-no of thf shipping journals go so far as to 'suggest that men who are really colour-blind are sometimes allowed to go to sea, while those who may have perfect vision are sometimes debarred from nmploymeet under tho present system of tests. WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. Heretofore the use of wireless telegraphy at sea has been chiefly confined to the Atlantic. There were obvious reasons for this, among them that most ; improvements in connection with the increased comfort of steamship passengers originate on that ocean. In the second place, the network of shore stations set up on either side of the Atlantic may be said to have no real counterpart elsewhere. But it has always been felt that the employment of wireless telegraphy in the longer voyage trades wlas only a matter of time, and that with the gradual provision of shore stations in more distant portions of the globe we should eventually see a remarkable advance. Now comes the news that the Peninsular and Oriental Company have decided to equip their three latest mail steamers of the "M" class for the Marconi system. These vessels are to be employed on the company's trunk line from London to Australia As the Orient Company have decided to give a similar equipment to the five new mail steamers which they are constructing under the Commonwealth mail contract this will make a total of eight mail coats of the very first class trading to Australia by way of the Suez Canal which will be able to transmit or receive wireless messages at various points on their voyage, or hold communication with each other over wide stretches of ocean. It may, bs presumed that this is only the beginning of further provision of ' the kind, and that , one of these days most, if not all, of the passenger steamj ers crossing the lone Southern Ocean I will be in a position to hold converse with each other. At present, it is believed, the Commonwealth Government has not altogether developed its plans in connection with the provision of shore stations on the Australian mainland, but the fact that eight mail -steamships connecting with the Mother Country will shortly bo equipped for wireless may be taken as an indication that but little delay will be allowed to intervene before the Australian stations are ready The steamer Tottenham, which arrived at Sydney on Ist Juno from New York, via Durban, had a rather sensational experience. When she reached 39 S., 170 E., the captain states, a cyclone of tremendous force swept down on her from the west -south-west with great suddenness. Those on board the vessel were taken completely by surprise. For a few minutes the stoamer was whirled away in the grip of the disturbance, and it was only with great difficulty that her v head was ultimately turned to the gale. Then for three days she battled and laboured in the grip of the tempest. Immense seas pounded on her decks in almost endless succession. One of her lifeboats was stove in by them, he«" skylights wero splintered, and her en-gine-rooms almost flooded. However, she rode through the gale in safety, and then experienced fine weather for the remainder of the trip. The Morse signalling apparatus is to be introduced at the principal lookout 6ta,tiona along the New South Wales coast shortly, with the object of reporting vessels passing at night. An officer of the New South Wales Navigation Department has paid a visit to some of the signal stations for the purpose of reporting to the department on the quesl tion of arranging for the installation.