SHIPS AND THE SEA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 20 February 1913, Page 2

SHIPS AND THE SEA

AUTOMATIC LIGHTHOUSES. The automatic lighthouse* mentioned in connection with' the Panama Canal are not a recent development. The method is the invention o"f a famous Swedish physicist, Gusfcaf Dalen, of Stockholm. 'The light is generally called the "Aga." It was brought into existence upon the perfection- r of the dissolved acetylene—absorbed in acetone. Acetone under a pressure of ten atmospheres will absorb 240 times its own volume of acetylene. The automatic arrangement is covered by means of a "sun valve" which Mr Dalen has perfected. This is a remarkably ingenious apparatus, and is based upon a vysllknown scientific principle. If two copper rods of equal length and thickness are taken, and one is coated with a light-absorbing medium, while the .other is given a light-reflecting coat, when exposed to light the former expands, while the other remains unaffected. The result is due to the fact that in the one case the light absorbed is transformed into heat and thus brings about the expansion of the metal. The "sun-valve" works upon this basis, and is a very simple and .effective Apparatus. There is i a glass cylinder containing four copper I rods of identical dimensions in every ! respect. One is placed in the . centre of the cylinder forming, practically its axis, while the others are disposed equidistantly around it. The central rod is coated with lamp-black, so as to possess the. fullest light-absorbing properties, while it"s ; .three fellows are rendered highly non-conductive and reflective, being gold-polished'. ' fn 'this juarme'r the maximum of light is thrown upon the central rod, so that expansion is accelerated. The rod is so mounted that the lower end presses on a lever, which opens and closes the gas valve. The rod is capable of adjustment, so that its degree of sensitiveness may be varied as conditions demand. It is 'protected by the outer glass cylinder, so that when once set it performs its function infallibly until the adjustment is altered. With the breaking of dawn the increasing light acting upon the blackened rod causes it to expand longitudinally. In so doing it presses upon the lever and gradually closes the valve through which the gas passes into the flashing apparatus until at last the orifice is closed tightly, and the light goes out. When daylight commences to wane the light-ab-sorbing rod, beginning to cool, gradually shrinks, thereby releasing the valve, so that the gas is enabled to pass to the flasher once more. • As, the pilotlight is unaffected by the action of the , sun-valve, directly the gas passes to the burner it is ignited, and so the light is brought into service. One feature of this invention is the automatic adaptability of the instrument to the varying seasons of the year. Being controlled'-entirely by light, it ensures operation throughout all the hours warning is demanded, both summer and winter; and yet not one foot of gas is .wasted. *ln winter the light gleams i rorth about 3 o'clock irr the afternoon, I and continues until eight or later the ' next morning. In summer, on the other.hand, it comes into action about 8 in. the evening, and it flickers out about six hours later.

THE LATE LORD FURNESS. In. the course of an obituary article, on the late Lord 'Furness, "Lloyd's Shipping Gazette", savs :—Of Lord Furness it will no doubt be said : that everything he touched turned into .gold. But this is only another-way of saying that . he was possessed- of singular energy and foresight. He was always.able to see ahead, and to take the tide at the flood. He was, too,, eminently There was no letting -of "I dare not'' wait upon "I would.'* " -Thus he was able to foresee the -great future before the niaritime= interests, of Canada when soipe others'were doubtful aa to ..the posaibilitiea.:.. .-Again, Lord. Furness had the master mind,.-which grasped the,facv that die man who could control the building t f a ship and the running of a ship to the best advantage might well interest himself in iron, coal, and" steel, the prime elements of modern maritime industry. It is not given to many men to be both •ihipowner and shipbuilder.. Lord Furness not only combined these twp parts, but. was deeply concerned in the production of the raw material and its manufacture. It is' worth noting that Lord Furness was oractically what may be called a cargoboat owner. .That►is to say, his interests' were chiefly .concerned in caxgoearrying, as distinguished from mad and uassenger steamers. Perhaps this was 'he outcome of his earlier graining, or itmay be that he saw in the probable increase in the transport of commodities i sufficient opening for his' singular abilities Anyhow, the.name of Lor-d .purr ness-will be largely associated cent cargo boat progress and cargo boat amalgamations'.- To say this is to intimate that he--followed-with keen instinct aU those important developments, achieved arid prospective, which, are associated with this class of vessel. .Not can it be forgotten that this able, pleasant-manner-ed captain of industry' combined with strong ideas' of duty and-discipline the kindliest feelings for his workmen. 4-hus,, as the originator of a, profit-shamg scheme in connection with shipbuilding —a project unhappily not sufficiently appreciated—he showed hb faith in the workman, and a ; singular ability to adapt himself to new labour conditions. He .was-always* ready, to meet fresh problems by fresh methods. Jqjft WOf-t*., it was this ability tP march i?ot only with the times but somewhat !n advance of them which was the secret of a great ,b.usiness career, now unfortunately cut 'short in its very prime. ( .

AN ANCIENT OFFICE. Hull, or more properly Kingston-upon-Hull, the predominant port, on the IJiirnbW and. the third, port'in. respect qt value of tpade in the United. enjoys mftny ancient fights and PVlYlleges. Among other things, its Cqbpm*-. tion has the..right, by chapter, of. King Henry VI., to appoint an Admiral ot the Humber,"in whom jurisdiction upon its waters. The office, is. held ;by the , Mayor, whp- is entiled to fly his flag hearing---the city arms, and/. tp, have .it by six guns from .His. Ma]es.ty-s ships. right_hay3 frequently been pfficiaily recognised in modern officers commanding ships of war. fortunes; JN SHIPS. There has been no more remarkable of the shipping trade dur.ing the piist year than the abnormal rise in the viilue'of t.pnnage D ft "ly Telegraph"). Certain luoky Individual? who gave orders a twelvemonth ago or so for cargo boats found themselves able it is said°, without ever, putting their hands in their pockets,- to dispose of their bargains for as much' as £20,000 apiede. In some cases the amount was even larger. Tl'ie 'conditions,; of' cbiiise, we're exceptional. Everybody Wanted ■ ready ships in a hurry, so a* to earn fortunes

with them during a period of golden freights. Strikes affecting the steelmakers stopped the delivery of shipbuilding material. The shortage of skilled labour in the shipyards put the early delivery of more recently ordered tonnage out of the question. Meantime'both wages and material had steadily risen, and had forced up builders' quotations. Tt is quite likely that the payment of £20,000 in order to step into the shoes of an early contractor for a boat was actually a very profitable proceeding. What is true of steamers ordered in good time is equally true of second-hand boats. These have changed hands at advances of 20, 30, and even 40 per cent. Some have been disposed of more than once, and always at higher figures. Even sailing ships, recently almost gvien avvay by British owners, 'have experienced a phenomenal recovery in value. These high prices have, of' course, their justification in the increased earning power. When a steamer will earn half her cost in a couple of round voyages, as some have done, she is an instrument to be sought after. Only a few shipowners have sold out at what they regarded as the top of the mai-ket. By common consent, the conditions are very unfavourable for the production of tvew tonnage at other than dear figures. For this reason alone the present range of shipping values has a goo'd chance of being maintained for a considerable time to • come.

The latest departmental returns show that there are 4553 artisans and labourers employed' on co-operative works in New Zealand. Of this number 1990 are on railways, 2191 on roads, 57 on. development of water power, 88 on irrigation and water-supply, and 227 on public buildings.

An incident in which one of the most prominent figures was Kameda, the Japanese wrestler, occurred in the Avenue the other night (says the Wangamii "Chronicle.") Some larrikins were troubling a young man and a lady going up the street. When passing the Newmarket Hotel, the young man. stepped, in to see if he could get any assistance. Kameda. was staying at the hotel, and went out to see what -the'.trouble was about. ■ One of the hoodlums thought the little Japanese was fair game, and made for him. The jiu-jitsu expert .met his adversary in a quicker and more-un-expected, manner than was anticipated, with the result that there was a. thud and a clatter on the pavement and a scamper of hurrying, feet.

Five men and four women' (says the Chicago correspondent of the "Daily Mail," on December 23) have been, arrested in this city for a murder' which was committed on Friday in an office in the heart of the city, on the third floorover M'Vicker's Theatre. Here, in the afternoon, the body of Mr J. H. Logue, an aged diamond, and* jewellery merchant, was found badly injured, his eyes haying been burned with acid arid his vskulj -fractured. The:body was lying behind the counter, and the. office was in a state of confusion, having been ransacked for valuables. The diamond merchant had been cruelly tortured, for •here were 17 knife grounds on his body. His arms were tied behind his back with rope, and'he- had been fihot in the back. A gag was found in his mouth. It had been fastened by a strip torn from a woman's 6ilk skirt. There is no doubt that the torture. was administered by the robbers when the old man refused, to disclose where he .kept precious stones and other valuables. Practically .all that was worth taking had been stolen, but the merchant's store of jewels was ikept- in a safe : deposit, and not on the premises. * Ari exairiinafciqn of corpse makes it fairly evident that death did „hot take place until..the victim's torture was complete. None of the knife wounds, nor even the pistol shot, could have been, fatal, and ifc- was the blow, on his- skull vthat' must have killed him. It is believed that the murderers did this in their disappointment at not finding the diamonds. The police declare that they have discovered the hiding place of a gang of thieves, and after the arrest yesterday of four of the suspects, who are E. H. Hampton and his wife, Clyde Stratton, and Mrs W. John-son, the officers raided' a fashi- • onable apartment, and arrested -three' othe r men arid two more women. The police have in their possession thousands of pounds' -worth of jewellery and precious -stones .found in the llat, and they believe that they have broken up one of the most important and daring gangs of thieves in the country.

The efficacy of the life-saving reel in' cases of surf accidents was fully demonstrated at Lyall Bay on Saturday afternoon last, when the Maranui Surf and •Life Saving Club was successful in rescuing a man named M'Gregor whom the 'backwash had carried hey on d the breakers, says the "Dominion." It appears, that M'Gregor swam, out to tell a young lady to come ashore, but found that she was unable to do so and that he was similarly placed. Their plight was ed by the Maranui Glub's look-out, and a squad went immediately to the rescue. The" lady was safely brought ashore by two members. Mr. Newman, of the Lvall Bay Surf Club, stood by M'Gregor till the beltman" arrived and took charge of him, .when aU i were . brought Safely ashore. Special praise is | due to Mr. Gr. 0. Morgan, who acted as beltman*, and who had a strenuous 20' minutes' struggle with the breakers, any to .Mi. Newman, who .stood by' M'Gregor without regard Do his. own "safety. "M'Gregor and. ■ his rescuers were thoroughly exhausted when shore was reached,' but*'the resuscitating appliances "kept;at; the Mararjui Glub's rooms soon restored: ■ "JThJs is the second rescue e'ffefcfed'Tdiiring the past week by the -Maranui Club. Oil Sunday afternoon, February 9, a man named Evans was brought ashore in. an apparently lifeless condition and restored by the Jrtoyal Life Saving Society's methods,